Although the bacterium is harmless for most pregnant women who carry it, it can be extremely serious when it passes to babies during pregnancy, childbirth or in the early weeks of life.
752
迫切需要新的疫苗来减少与B组链球菌相关的死亡，保护世界各地婴儿的生命和健康。
New vaccines are urgently needed to reduce deaths associated with Group B strep and protect the lives and health of infants around the world.
A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) reveals the alarming global impact of Group B streptococcus (GBS) – a common bacterium that can be transmitted in the womb, during birth, or in the early weeks of life – leading to around 150,000 deaths of babies each year, more than half a million preterm births and significant long-term disability.
The report calls urgently for the development of maternal vaccines against GBS to reduce this toll, emphasizing they could be highly cost-effective – with significant health benefits – in all regions of the world.
Dr Phillipp Lambach, Medical Officer from WHO’s Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals department, and report author, said: “This new research shows that Group B strep is a major and underappreciated threat to newborn survival and wellbeing, bringing devastating impacts for so many families globally.
756
世卫组织与合作伙伴一起呼吁紧急开发一种供孕产妇使用的B组链球菌疫苗，这将对世界各国带来极大利好。”
WHO joins partners in calling for urgent development of a maternal GBS vaccine, which would have profound benefits in countries worldwide.”
For the first time, this new research quantifies the major contribution of GBS to preterm births, as well as neurological impairments – such as cerebral palsy, hearing and vision loss – that can occur following GBS-associated infections.
758
已有几个B组链球菌候选疫苗正处在研发过程中。
Several GBS vaccine candidates are in development but none are yet available, despite having been in the pipeline for several decades.
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伦敦卫生与热带医学学院孕产妇、青少年生殖和儿童健康中心 （ MARCH ） 主任 Joy Lawn 教授 是该报告的撰稿人，她说：“B组链球菌感染对每个受影响的家庭和每个国家都构成严重挑战。
Professor Joy Lawn, Director of the Maternal Adolescent Reproductive & Child Health (MARCH) Centre at LSHTM, and a contributor to the report, said: “Group B strep infection poses a serious challenge to every family affected, and in every country.
Maternal vaccination could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of babies in the years to come, yet 30 years since this was first proposed, the world has not delivered a vaccine.