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Fatigue: A Case Study

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Introduction Group B streptococcus (GBS) is one of the leading causes of pneumonia, sepsis, meningitis and death in the neonatal patient (1). Pregnant women who are carriers of GBS have the potential to spread the bacterium to their newborn infant via vertical transmission before delivery, during prolonged labour and premature rupture of membranes, or via post-partum exposure (1,2,3). The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that between 10-30% of women are GBS colonized. Approximately 50% of infants, whose mothers at 37 weeks test GBS positive and are untreated, become colonized (2). As the spectrum of maternal and fetal GBS infection may range from asymptomatic colonization to sepsis, careful management is necessary to help protect life and health (2). Through methods such as prenatal screening and prophylactic antibiotic treatment, the incidence of neonatal GBS has …show more content…

Late-onset disease occurs within 7 to 90 days of life, and occurs less frequently than early-onset disease (5,10). The transmission of late-onset disease can occur via vertical transmission, and less commonly via nosocomial infection, horizontal transmission, and transmission via breast milk. The two most common clinical manifestations of late-onset disease include meningitis and bacteremia (4,5). Early-onset disease occurs within the first 0 to 6 days of life, with the greatest number of neonates exhibiting signs of infection within the first 24 hours including pneumonia, sepsis, and less commonly, meningitis (1,10). In early-onset disease, the neonate is exposed to the GBS infection before or during labour (5). Some infections occur when the neonate is passed through the birth canal, but the majority of infections occur when the GBS bacterium ascends from the vagina and into the amniotic fluid after the onset of labour or rupture of membranes

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