Utility of hub and spoke model for estimating the burden of Group B <i>Streptococcus</i> infection and its antibiotic resistance profiling among pregnant tribal women

Objectives Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of maternal sepsis and neonatal meningitis. The objective is to determine the feasibility of using the hub-spoke model for the collection and transportation of recto-vaginal swab samples was evaluated in addition to the GBS burden among tribal females, convenient diagnostic method and antibiotic susceptibility profiling. Materials and Methods Recto-vaginal samples were collected from the 35–37 weeks pregnant women using pre-sterile HiCulture transport swab and were transferred into Lim Broth. Direct plating was carried out by inoculating swabs onto chromogenic agar. Positive colonies were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing using the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was also performed. Statistical analysis Statistical tests were performed using Microsoft excel. P &lt; 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The socio-demographic and clinical profiling of the 808 pregnant females suggested vaginal discharge (89.23%) to be the most common symptom at the time of presentation. GBS was detected in 116 (14.35%) and 52 (6.43%) by PCR and culture-based methods, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the PCR assay were estimated to be 100% and 91.53%, respectively. Obtained GBS isolates were found to be 100% sensitive to quinupristin – dalfopristin, linezolid, cefepime, and vancomycin, whereas 10%, 23%, 27%, and 23% of the isolates were found to be resistant for penicillin, clindamycin, erythromycin, and levofloxacin, respectively. Conclusions Hub-spoke model for GBS screening must be emphasized in rural settings to identify pregnant women requiring prophylactic antibiotic therapy. PCR could be used as an efficient tool for identifying GBS.