Group B Strep causes over 20,000 cases of infant meningitis, sepsis and pneumonia each year. About 10% of these cases will result in death.

The Group B Strep bacteria carried by the mother can infect the baby upon birth. About 25% of all pregnant women will be carriers of Group B Strep. The mother is usually without symptoms and there is no way of knowing if the mother is infected without laboratory testing.

The detection of the organism is important in order to begin treatment of the mother with antibiotics prior to childbirth.

The CDC requires that all pregnant women be tested for the presence of Group B Strep during the 35th to 37th week of gestation. This infection can be easily and successfully treated with penicillin during labor.

Nearly 20 years ago, Hardy Diagnostics created Carrot Broth used for the detection of Group B Strep in pregnant women. Since then, Carrot Broth has saved the lives of hundreds and hundreds of newborns. Carrot Broth can produce quick results using a simple color change in a test tube.

The Carrot Broth system is inoculated with a swab from the pregnant female. Within 6 to 24 hours, an orange color will appear in the Carrot Broth tube if the Group B Strep bacteria is present. The advantage of the Hardy Carrot Broth is that it produces an easy to read bright color change and has a long shelf life. When compared to methods such as PCR or LIM broth, Carrot Broth significantly reduces the workload, the cost, and the time necessary to accurately identify GBS colonization in pregnant women.

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