Anthony Duffy’s elder daughter, Katie Rose, suffers from seizures and epilepsy, an awful legacy from the group B Streptococcal infection she had shortly after birth.
Katie Rose is now six years of age and her parents hope she can start mainstream school in September. “And to think that this heartache and suffering could have been avoided by one simple test during pregnancy,” says dad, Anthony Duffy.
Group B Streptococcus (GBS or group B Strep) is the commonest cause of life-threatening infections in newborn babies and it can be passed to babies around birth. It is estimated that, without preventative medicine, one in every 300 babies born to women carrying GBS would become seriously ill – approximately 700 sick babies a year – of whom 75 would die and another 40 would suffer serious life-long consequences.
Within a couple of hours of being born on 4 August 2007, Katie Rose became seriously ill. “We noticed how ill she had become,” says Anthony, “and called the midwife. The midwife realised straight away that something was wrong and they took blood tests within 10 minutes. Katie Rose was taken to SCBU and given antibiotics via a drip. She stayed there for twelve days. She had group B Strep infection.”
As a father, Anthony felt powerless to help, but he firmly believes that despite Katie Rose’s condition, "We were lucky - without those antibiotics the outcome could have been far more serious - we would have lost her.”
Although many western countries offer pregnant women testing for GBS carriage, we don’t in the UK. Other countries have seen their incidence of GBS in newborns fall dramatically – in the US by over 80% - while the incidence in the UK has increased by 23% between 2003 and 2011.
National charity Group B Strep Support is calling on the Government to improve awareness and prevention of life-threatening group B Strep infections in newborn babies. A present, the recognised ‘gold standard’ of testing in pregnancy is now widely available. Katie Rose’s infection could have been prevented if only testing had been routinely available.
Katie Rose’s sister, Kara, was born on 1st April 2011 and mum was tested at the 35-37 week of her pregnancy for GBS. The result came back positive and she received antibiotics during labour to protect her second child from infection. Kara is a healthy, happy bouncy two-year old. “The difference in the developmental stages of the girls is huge,” says Anthony. “It makes me very cross to think that if my wife had received a simple, safe test late in her pregnancy with Katie Rose, all this heartache could have been avoided. I am devastated for my little girl’s life-long suffering.”
Jane Plumb MBE, chief executive of charity Group B Strep Support (GBSS) says, “Every mother-to-be should be informed about group B Strep during her antenatal care and if she, or her health professionals, wants her to be tested during pregnancy, then the ‘gold standard’ test should be available on the NHS. Being able to test within the NHS will make a significant impact on the numbers of babies suffering preventable GBS infection and a 2011 survey shows that women want this,” says Jane Plumb MBE
The ‘gold standard’ test for group B Strep, which poses no risk to mother or baby, is currently available at only a handful of NHS hospitals and privately, at a cost of £35 per test.
Anthony Duffy is supporting the group B Strep e-petition http://www.gbss.org.uk/epetition which is seeking for testing for group B Strep to be offered routinely on the NHS and wants all pregnant women to be aware of how most of these infections can be prevented.
When asked what Father’s Day (June 19) means to Anthony, “It is my wife’s birthday this year on Father’s Day, so I guess I’ll be sidelined! But we will spend the day with the family.”
Group B Strep Support is asking that:
- Information about group B Strep should be routinely given to all women as part of their antenatal care
- Sensitive testing for group B Strep should be made freely available within the NHS and available at the request of pregnant women and their health professionals
- Antibiotics should be offered intravenously in labour to all mums whose babies are known to be at higher risk of developing GBS infection
- The use of the ‘standard’ test within the NHS for the detection of GBS carriage in pregnancy should cease and vaginal swabs taken from pregnant women should always be tested using a method that offers good sensitivity for GBS dictation.
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