TY - JOUR
T1 - Group B streptococcal disease in infants 0–3 months in The Netherlands, 1987–2023
T2 - a nationwide genomic and epidemiological surveillance study
AU - Groenveld, Marleen A.
AU - Jamrozy, Dorota
AU - Visser, Douwe H.
AU - Brouwer, Matthijs C.
AU - van de Beek, Diederik
AU - Bijlsma, Merijn W.
AU - van Sorge, Nina M.
AU - van Beek, Ron
AU - Bekker, Vincent
AU - van den Berg, Maartje
AU - Blok, Geert Jan
AU - Breukels, Mijke
AU - Brouwer, Alwin F.J.
AU - Cornelisse-van Vugt, Renske J.P.M.
AU - Delemarre, Luçan C.
AU - Dings, Anouk
AU - Doedens, Rienus A.
AU - van Dorth, Stefan M.
AU - Havers, Hester M.
AU - Heidema, Jojanneke
AU - Hemels, Marieke A.C.
AU - van den Heuvel, Maartje E.N.
AU - van Houten, Marlies A.
AU - Jacobs, Monique A.M.
AU - Janse, Arieke
AU - de Jong, Miranda
AU - van Kaam, Anton H.
AU - Kaspers, Ageeth
AU - van Kassel, Merel N.
AU - van Kempen, Anne A.M.W.
AU - Klúčovská, Kristine
AU - Korbeek, Karen
AU - Kornelisse, René F.
AU - Kuijpers, Anke G.
AU - Kuijpers, Taco W.
AU - van Leeuwen, Elizabeth
AU - von Lindern, Jeannette
AU - Flores, Carmen Lorente
AU - Van Mechelen, Karen
AU - Meijssen, Clemens B.
AU - Noordzij, Jeroen
AU - Oudshoorn, Annemarie
AU - Plötz, Frans B.
AU - Rijpert, Maarten
AU - Snoek, Linde
AU - van Sorge, Nina M.
AU - Termote, Jacqueline U.M.
AU - de Waal, Wouter J.
AU - Wolfs, Tom F.W.
AU - van Zijl, Angela C.M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
PY - 2026/7
Y1 - 2026/7
N2 - Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of sepsis and meningitis in infants. The molecular epidemiology and potential vaccine coverage of GBS disease in infants was assessed in the Netherlands over a 37-year period. Methods: This nationwide observational study identified infants aged 0–89 days with GBS culture-positive sepsis or meningitis between July 1987 and June 2024, through Dutch surveillance. Serotype was determined by latex agglutination. Whole-genome sequencing determined the clonal complex (CC) using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and identified virulence factors associated with meningitis. Strain coverage by the maternal vaccines GBS6 and GBS-AlpN were analysed. Findings: 2212 episodes were identified; 1307 (59%) early onset disease (0–6 days) and 905 (41%) late onset disease (7–89 days). Mean annual incidence was 0·33 per 1000 live births and significantly increased from 0·19 in 1987 to 0·57 in 2023 due to an increase in sepsis cases (p < 0·0001). Serotype data was available for 2163 (98%) of 2212 isolates, of which serotype III was most common (1316/2163; 61%), followed by Ia (383/2163; 18%) and II (123/2163; 6%). MLST data was available for 1723 (78%) isolates; CC17 was most common (705/1723; 41%). CC17 increased from 29% (90/308) in 1987–1996 to 49% (262/538) in 2014–2023 (p < 0·0001). 97% (2095/2163) of cases would be covered by the GBS6 vaccine, and 99% (1709/1723) by GBS-AlpN. Interpretation: GBS disease is still increasing in the Netherlands. The GBS6 and GBS-AlpN vaccines would potentially prevent >96% of cases. Funding: Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMW) and ItsME foundation.
AB - Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of sepsis and meningitis in infants. The molecular epidemiology and potential vaccine coverage of GBS disease in infants was assessed in the Netherlands over a 37-year period. Methods: This nationwide observational study identified infants aged 0–89 days with GBS culture-positive sepsis or meningitis between July 1987 and June 2024, through Dutch surveillance. Serotype was determined by latex agglutination. Whole-genome sequencing determined the clonal complex (CC) using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and identified virulence factors associated with meningitis. Strain coverage by the maternal vaccines GBS6 and GBS-AlpN were analysed. Findings: 2212 episodes were identified; 1307 (59%) early onset disease (0–6 days) and 905 (41%) late onset disease (7–89 days). Mean annual incidence was 0·33 per 1000 live births and significantly increased from 0·19 in 1987 to 0·57 in 2023 due to an increase in sepsis cases (p < 0·0001). Serotype data was available for 2163 (98%) of 2212 isolates, of which serotype III was most common (1316/2163; 61%), followed by Ia (383/2163; 18%) and II (123/2163; 6%). MLST data was available for 1723 (78%) isolates; CC17 was most common (705/1723; 41%). CC17 increased from 29% (90/308) in 1987–1996 to 49% (262/538) in 2014–2023 (p < 0·0001). 97% (2095/2163) of cases would be covered by the GBS6 vaccine, and 99% (1709/1723) by GBS-AlpN. Interpretation: GBS disease is still increasing in the Netherlands. The GBS6 and GBS-AlpN vaccines would potentially prevent >96% of cases. Funding: Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMW) and ItsME foundation.
KW - Bacterial meningitis
KW - Early-onset disease
KW - Group B Streptococcus
KW - Infants
KW - Late-onset disease
KW - Maternal vaccination
KW - Neonates
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105038260348
U2 - 10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101711
DO - 10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101711
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105038260348
SN - 2666-7762
VL - 66
JO - The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
JF - The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
M1 - 101711
ER -