[Neil asked: "I invite HIFA members to share and comment on WHO publications published in recent years. How have you used them and what could be done to increase their dissemination and uptake?" https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/hifa-commits-support-dissemination-and-... ]
Hi, Neil,
I frequently use the World Health Organization’s “Group B streptococcus vaccine: full value of vaccine assessment” report (launched 2 November 2021) that’s downloadable at https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240037526 . “The new research presented in this report was performed by teams at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and WHO supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.”
Their information on: “Disease burden estimates of Group B streptococcus” (page 15) is especially helpful to our group’s awareness efforts:
“The updated estimates identify a larger burden of GBS disease than previously quantified. There are 231,000 (UR: 114,000 – 455 000) early onset iGBS cases and 161,000 (UR: 70,000 – 394,000) late onset iGBS cases, which result in 91,000 (UR: 44,000 – 187,000) deaths and 37,000 (UR: 14,000 –96,000) survivors with neurodevelopmental impairment each year. This assumes that early onset iGBS cases born without a skilled birth attendant have 90% risk of mortality due to lack of antibiotics for treatment. Stillbirths represent a major mortality burden with 46,000 (UR: 20,000 – 111,000) GBS-attributable stillbirths occurring each year. Although there is large uncertainty, 3.5% of preterm births globally are associated with maternal GBS colonization, with a central estimate of 518,000 (UR: 36,000 –1,142,000) preterm births annually.”
Group B streptococcus vaccine: full value of vaccine assessment. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
Best!
Marti
HIFA profile: Marti Perhach is CEO/Cofounder of Group B Strep International, United States. Professional interests: Group B strep disease research and prevention, prenatal infection, One Health. Email address: marti.perhach AT gbs-intl.org
