Perinatology.  2021 Mar;32(1):23-26. 10.14734/PN.2021.32.1.23.

Recurrent Group B Streptococcal Infection in a Neonate Associated with Infected Breast Milk

• Ha M
• Park EA
• Cho SJ

• KMID: 2522509
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14734/PN.2021.32.1.23

Abstract

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection is known to be the leading cause of sepsis and meningitis in newborns, but the relapse rate is very rare, less than 1%. Recurrence has been reported in association with in cases of untreated abscess, undiagnosed congenital heart disease, maternal mastitis, and reinfection through breast milk. We report a 20-day-old full-term female infant who visited the emergency room due to fever and was diagnosed with recurrent GBS sepsis. She had been treated for 10 days with antibiotics for early onset disease and sepsis caused by GBS, and her mother was negative for GBS on prenatal screening. She was breastfed and her mother had no mastitis. Echocardiography, abdominal ultrasound, brain ultrasound, and bone scans were performed to find the cause of GBS reinfection and were normal. Culture of the breast milk yielded GBS. We report the relationship between recurrent GBS infection and breast milk with literature review.

Keyword

Breast milk; Group B Streptococcus; Neonate; Sepsis