Pregnant women with vaginal and rectal colonization, are the most important reservoirs for group B streptococcal ( GBS ) infections of the newborn. There is an ungoing discussion on the use of antimicrobial therapy for the eradication of GBS.

Antibiotic resistance patterns of GBS isolated from pregnant women was studied. A total of 68 strains were isolated from vaginal and rectal specimens of pregnant women who have screened for GBS carriage. Strains were tested for their susceptibility to penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, ofloxacin, erythromicin, vancomycin and ceftriaxone. By disc diffusion method no resistance to penicillin, ampicillin and vancomycin was found. Ahigh level of resistance against tetracycline was noted (92.9%). 11.8 % strains exhibited a multiple antibiotic resistance pattern. We recommended that routine reporting of GBS susceptibilities be adopted to help guide the clinician in the choice of antibiotic therapy for invaziv GBS infections and eradication of colonization.