This month, Chris Evans MP is supporting Group B Strep Awareness Month and using the month of July to spread awareness of the disease in newborns.
Group B Strep (GBS) is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies in the UK, causing sepsis, meningitis and pneumonia. About 800 babies a year develop GBS infection in the UK.
Group B Strep is a type of bacteria that lives naturally in the body and usually does not display any symptoms or cause harm. However, if the bacteria spreads to a part of the body that’s free from bacteria it can cause life- threatening infections, such as meningitis, sepsis and could cause blindness and death in infants already ill.
This Group B Strep Awareness Month, Chris Evans MP is sharing the main symptoms of the disease in newborns so parents know what to look out for. These include:
- being floppy and unresponsive
- grunting when breathing
- very fast or slow breathing
- a very fast or slow heart rate
- an unusually high or low temperature
- changes in their skin colour or blotchy skin
- not feeding well or vomiting milk up
- an unusually fast or slow heart rate
Mr Evans is also supporting Group B Strep Support’s work to improve awareness and education around group B Strep across the UK, as well as the help they provide to families affected by it, and more research into how to prevent, spot, and treat the infection.
Chris Evans MP said
‘It is vital parents know the signs and symptoms of Group Strep B in their newborns to prevent life- threatening illnesses.
Group B Strep Awareness Month is an important time to spread awareness of the disease and the work being done to help families affected by it.’
You can find out more information here: https://www.meningitis.org/blogs/group-b-strep-awareness-month
