Laboratory practices for prenatal Group B streptococcal screening and reporting--Connecticut, Georgia, and Minnesota, 1997-1998.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of neonatal sepsis in the United States. CDC, in collaboration with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommends that laboratories adopt optimal screening practices to identify GBS and to promptly report test results so that GBS-colonized pregnant women can receive antibiotics during labor. To assess GBS screening practices in clinical laboratories, state health departments surveyed laboratories in Connecticut, Georgia, and Minnesota, participants in the Emerging Infections Program. The survey found that the practices of some participating laboratories were suboptimal, particularly in their lack of use of selective broth media for culture of GBS.