VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1
SUMMER 2008

Welcome to the Summer newsletter from GBSI, a non-profit organization committed to promoting GBS awareness worldwide (en español).

This edition is dedicated to Allison Reid who was born March 1, 2002, survived late-onset GBS meningitis with severe brain damage, and went to be with the angels on January 25, 2008. Her story and her parents mission to create GBS awareness thru Allison Hugs can be viewed at the News & Observer Website.

July is International Group B Strep Awareness Month!

GBSI is sponsoring this annual awareness month per the US National Health Observance Calendar. You can help in our campaign to promote GBS awareness and prevention. Parents, friends, and healthcare professionals are needed to deliver our message about GBS. Here are just a few ways you can help:

Parents ~ Grandparents ~ Friends

• Share your GBS story on our website
• Distribute GBSI’s brochure in your community
• Call the health editor of your local newspaper to do an article on GBS
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper
• Wear GBS awareness ribbons (order here)
• Check our online shop for great GBS awareness items including buttons, magnets, and more
• Provide awareness materials for your health professionals
• Request awareness month recognition and GBS information on pregnancy boards
• Make a donation. GBSI is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization.

Healthcare Professionals

• Give GBSI’s brochure to your patients at their first prenatal visit
• Download our PowerPoint for Medical Professionals for your next presentation! Visit our GBS Resources to view and download this file.
• Wear GBS awareness ribbons (order here)
• Wear “I test for GBS” stickers or buttons, especially in countries without universal screening (order here)
• Request awareness month recognition and GBS information in your workplace and on medical websites
• Add GBSI as a link from your healthcare website

GBSI to be GoodSearch and GoodShop’s Charity of the Day!

Group B Strep International will be featured as the Charity of the Day on GoodSearch.com and GoodShop.com on July 1, 2008!

Remember to use GoodSearch.com, the Yahoo-powered search engine, for all of your web searches and we’ll receive a penny every time you do a search!!

And, please do all of your online shopping through GoodShop.com  where a percentage of each order will be donated to us (you don’t pay anything extra!)!  Hundreds of great stores including Target, Best Buy, Macys and others have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting us!

You can use GoodSearch and GoodShop every day, but be sure to check us out on their homepages on July 1, 2008!!

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NEW! International GBS Info Exchange Listserve

The International GBS Info Exchange listserve has been created to share information between interested individuals worldwide regarding the promotion of GBS  awareness and prevention.

GBS Prevention Efforts Around the Globe

Argentina has just passed legislation that all pregnant women be tested for Group B Strep! Congratulations to PREVENCIONEGB, who educated the public through the media to achieve their goal!

A much-needed study is being conducted in the USA on the long-term effects of GBS meningitis in surviving full-term infants! Dr. Morven S. Edwards, Professor of Pediatrics, and Dr. Fatma Levent, a postdoctoral fellow in pediatric infectious diseases, and their colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, have identified approximately 45 infants born from 1998 through 2006 during the era of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis in the USA. They hypothesize that, at their follow-up evaluation, they will find that a substantial number of survivors have long-term sequelae as a consequence of GBS meningitis. Their purpose in conducting this project is to increase the awareness of the urgent need for development of a GBS vaccine. For more information on this project or to contribute to funding awards, please e-mail Dr. Edwards at morvene@bcm.edu.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Dr. Diep Nguyen of babykick for providing the opportunity for GBSI to exhibit at the March of Dimes Conference for Health Professionals held January 23-25, 2008 in Costa Mesa, CA. 

We thankfully acknowledge the help of our many GBS parent volunteers who help with special projects, distribute brochures, make awareness ribbons, and share their babies’ stories and photos to help others.  Special thanks this newsletter to:

Renee Walsh, mother of James stillborn due to GBS

Bobbi Woytach, mother of Carissa born prematurely due to GBS

Jana Anthoine, mother of Charlie who lived 24 days due to GBS meningitis

Heather Finlay, mother to Kyla, GBS meningitis survivor

Geoff and Amrita Paterson, parents of Nola who lived 36 minutes due to GBS chorioamnionitis

Donna Russell, mother of Nathaniel, GBS sepsis survivor

GBSI would also like to give very special recognition and thanks to Tori Muir and David Mellor of Spot-on Creative whose ongoing help and expertise since the formation of GBSI has made this newsletter and GBSI’s website possible.

About Group B Strep International

Group B Strep International (GBSI) was formed in April 2006 by John MacDonald and Marti Perhach who each lost a daughter to Group B strep (GBS). Both John and Pam MacDonald’s daughter, Hannah, and Chris and Marti Perhach’s daughter, Rose, were stillborn full-term.

John and Marti each began to promote GBS awareness and prevention on a national level throughout the United States. Group B Strep International has been founded to expand the scope and the audience of this campaign.

Comments and feedback are appreciated e-mail info@gbs-intl.org

At any time, you may unsubscribe from The Globe by emailing unsubscribe@gbs-intl.org.

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