Can group b strep be transmitted from sittingon a toilet?

Answer 1

Group B Strep (GBS) is a common bacteria that is present in 25 - 30% of women at any given time.It is not sexually transmitted nor do you get it from sitting on a toilet. The bacteria generally colonizes in the gut and intestine and is usually harmless to otherwise healthy adults. Because of women's anatomy, it is relatively easy for GBS bacteria to "migrate" from the intestines via the rectum and anus to the vagina. In some women, the bacteria may even colonize the urinary tract. This may be discovered during a routine urinary culture (done by most pregnant women in the first trimester or if urinary symptoms appear.) In some instances, Group B Strep can cause a kidney infection in the woman (pyelonephritis), which can be dangerous in pregnancy and needs to be treated (possibly in the hospital) by antibiotics.

Though GBS is considered a harmless "colonizer" in most healthy adults, presence of a significant amount of the bacteria during labor and delivery can be dangerous to the newborn as it passes through the birth canal. Most babies exposed to GBSbacteria will be fine, however the infection that can result in some newborns exposed to GBS is serious and dangerous enough that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recommends that all women be tested for GBS colonization at the end of their pregnancy (most providers test between 35-37 weeks). Women who are positive for GBS (either though the culture at term or in the urinary tract at any point in pregnancy) are offered antibiotics during labor to prevent GBS infection in the newborn (Neonatal GBS sepsis).


The most effective antibiotic for GBS is penicillin or cephalosporins. Erythromycin or clindamycin are used for women who are truly allergic to penicillin, though the bacteria is somewhat more likely to be resistant to these. Treating women with antibiotics in labor has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of infection in the newborn baby, though treating women with antibiotics or vaginal washes prior to labor has not been shown to reduce the number of babies who will become ill. The antibiotics given to women in labor work two ways: they decrease (but don't eliminate) the amount of bacteria present in the mother's genital tract (which the baby must pass through on it's way out) and secondly (and more effectively) the IV antibiotics given to the mom are present in the baby's blood stream during and after birth and kill any bacteria which makes it to the baby before it can result in infection.