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Mission
To monitor the burden of group B streptococcal (GBS) disease through active surveillance and to motivate, support and evaluate efforts to prevent maternal and newborn group B streptococcal infections in the United States and globally.
CDC GBS Program Overview
![Infant](images/Baby_Lap.jpg)
- Monitoring the burden of invasive group B streptococcal disease through the Active Bacterial Core surveillance system which currently operates in 10 US states;
- Evaluating the impact and effectiveness of current prevention strategies;
- Collaborating with states in the ABCs network and elsewhere to monitor compliance with prevention recommendations;
- Developing and publishing CDC recommendations for the prevention of perinatal group B streptococcal disease, in consultation with key prevention partners;
- Raising awareness about group B strep disease prevention recommendations among the following target audiences: health care providers/hospitals/HMOs; clinical laboratory personnel; state and local public health partners; and the general public;
- Forming partnerships with states and with industry to promote group B streptococcal disease prevention;
- Assisting efforts by other government agencies and the private sector to develop and evaluate group B strep vaccine candidates by collecting information on preventable disease burden, serotype distribution, and cost-effectiveness of different vaccination strategies;
The group B strep team is also involved in active international collaborations to characterize and describe the burden of bacterial infections among newborns in developing countries, and to evaluate feasible, low-cost interventions to reduce this burden.