A vaccine trial for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is seeking pregnant women to participate, with researchers hoping it could prevent infant deaths and stillbirths. Menna Hulme, from English Frankton, Shropshire, was the first woman in Europe to join the trial, which is being run by Professor Will Parry-Smith from Keele University.
GBS is an infection that affects one in 1,750 babies in the UK and is associated with one death per week. Babies can contract GBS from their mother during passage through the birth canal, with intravenous antibiotics currently used to combat the infection during labour.
Ms Hulme, who received IV antibiotics during the birth of her first child after GBS was detected, expressed hope that the trial would lead to a widely available vaccine. She received her trial vaccine at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford when she was 34 weeks pregnant.
Professor Parry-Smith noted that the trial could also help address a global problem, particularly in low and middle-income countries with less developed health services. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) reports that over 60,000 babies are delivered annually across the wider West Midlands from mothers with GBS.