{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T05:09:28Z","timestamp":1773032968833,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,29]],"date-time":"2022-03-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1648512000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000265","name":"Medical Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BVNCP2-07"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BVNCP2-07"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000265","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000060","name":"National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["K24AI141744"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["K24AI141744"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000060","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Group B Streptococci (GBS) are important causes of neonatal sepsis and meningitis globally. To elucidate the potential benefits of maternal GBS vaccines, data is needed on the epidemiology of maternal GBS rectovaginal colonization, distribution of serotypes, and resistance to intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP). We collected rectal and vaginal samples from 305 pregnant women in Le\u00f3n, Nicaragua between 35 and 40 weeks gestation. Samples were cultured for GBS and confirmed using latex agglutination. GBS isolates underwent serotyping by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disk diffusion and microdilution following Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute guidelines. Sixty-three women (20.7%) were colonized with GBS in either the rectum or the vagina. Of 91 GBS isolates collected from positive cultures, most were serotypes II (28.6%), Ia (27.5%), and III (20.9%). Most GBS isolates (52.9%) were resistant to penicillin, the first-line prophylactic antibiotic. Penicillin resistance was highly correlated with resistance to vancomycin, ceftriaxone, and meropenem. The results of our study suggest that one-fifth of pregnant women in the urban area of Le\u00f3n, Nicaragua are colonized with GBS and risk transmitting GBS to their offspring during labor. High resistance to commonly available antibiotics in the region suggests that prophylactic maternal GBS vaccination would be an effective alternative to IAP.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens11040415","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,29]],"date-time":"2022-03-29T21:41:30Z","timestamp":1648590090000},"page":"415","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Rectovaginal Colonization with Serotypes of Group B Streptococci with Reduced Penicillin Susceptibility among Pregnant Women in Le\u00f3n, Nicaragua"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Teresa","family":"Alem\u00e1n","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Le\u00f3n 00068, Nicaragua"},{"name":"Center for Demographic and Health Research, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Le\u00f3n 00068, Nicaragua"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9004-0609","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nadja A.","family":"Vielot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9448-1188","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Herrera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Le\u00f3n 00068, Nicaragua"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Reymundo","family":"Velasquez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Le\u00f3n 00068, Nicaragua"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0172-9365","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tatiana","family":"Berrios","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Le\u00f3n 00068, Nicaragua"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1938-8012","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christian","family":"Toval-Ru\u00edz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Le\u00f3n 00068, Nicaragua"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Evert","family":"T\u00e9llez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Demographic and Health Research, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Le\u00f3n 00068, Nicaragua"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andres","family":"Herrera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Demographic and Health Research, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Le\u00f3n 00068, Nicaragua"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Samir","family":"Aguilar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Local Comprehensive Health Care System (SILAIS), Department of Le\u00f3n, Le\u00f3n 00068, Nicaragua"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sylvia","family":"Becker-Dreps","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA"},{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Neil","family":"French","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Infection Veterinary & Ecological Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool CH64 7TE, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Samuel","family":"Vilchez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Le\u00f3n 00068, Nicaragua"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2020). 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