Nov 28, 2020
This podcast explores how one
researcher is working to keep babies safer without turning to
antibiotics. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) presence in the mother is
a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Doctors often
treat mothers with antibiotics to curb the infection, which
presents its own complications. Richard interviews a microbiologist
working on alternatives.
Listen and learn
- How GBS transmission happens and what screening processed is used,
- What different strains of GBS exist and are they equally infectious, and
- How phage therapy may be the best solution to decrease infection rates while leaving the microbiome of the baby balanced and healthy.
In this episode, Richard speaks
with a researcher specializing in perinatal microbiology and
infections of the perinatal period. She examines how these
infections can modify the outcome for mothers and babies. By
looking at the epidemiology and how GBS strains change regarding
capsule type and other factors in different regions, she hopes to
learn more about the bacteria to utilize a bacteriophage for
infecting the bacteria.
What's a
bacteriophage versus a virus? One way to understand the
difference is to consider the host: bacteriophages are viruses that
infect bacteria. The
bacteriophage life cycle is intertwined with the host bacteria,
and many researchers are looking at bacteriophages in the human
body as a treatment alternative to antibiotics.
Because antibiotics are used to
treat bacterial versus viral infections and can kill beneficial
organisms inhabiting the baby, phage therapy may benefit babies in
multiple ways. GBS transmission occurs during the vaginal birth
process if the mother has the bacteria. While some babies can
remain healthy despite this, others are infected with harmful
results including death. Therefore, widespread screening is in
place, testing the mother.
Generally a mother is given antibiotics a few hour before labor.
This microbiologist is researching candidate phages for therapy and
also trying to understand more about natural exposure to phages
during pregnancy. Listen in for more about this dynamic and
potentially life-saving work.
Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK