Turning Awareness into Action

Every year, GBS Awareness Week from July 8-12 brings together healthcare professionals, advocacy organizations, and communities around the world with a shared goal: increasing awareness of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and its impact on maternal and newborn health.

Over the years, greater awareness has driven remarkable progress. Routine prenatal screening and evidence-based prevention strategies have significantly reduced the burden of early-onset GBS disease in many countries.

Today, the conversation is evolving. Awareness remains the foundation—but protecting every newborn also requires timely diagnostics and informed clinical decisions when they matter most.

From Awareness to Clinical Action

Routine GBS screening at 36–37 weeks of gestation has become a cornerstone of prenatal care. However, childbirth does not always follow a predictable timeline.

Healthcare providers continue to encounter situations where immediate decisions are required, including:

· Preterm labor before routine screening
· Premature rupture of membranes
· Missing or outdated GBS screening results
· Emergency admissions or patient transfers
· Rapid labor that leaves little time for conventional laboratory testing

In these scenarios, clinicians need more than awareness—they need reliable diagnostic answers that support confident decision-making in real time.

Smarter Diagnostics for Modern Maternity Care

For years, advances in GBS diagnostics focused primarily on shortening turnaround time.

Today, the goal is broader.

Healthcare providers need diagnostic solutions that integrate seamlessly into clinical workflows while delivering rapid, accurate, and actionable results.

A smarter GBS testing solution should provide:

· On-demand molecular testing whenever clinical decisions cannot wait
· Rapid turnaround to enable timely intervention
· High analytical accuracy for confident diagnosis
· Flexible workflow integration across different healthcare settings
· Support for antimicrobial stewardship, helping identify mothers who truly require intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis while reducing unnecessary antibiotic exposure

The future of GBS screening is not simply about obtaining results faster—it is about delivering the right information at the right time to improve patient care.

Macro & Micro-Test: Turning Awareness into Action

The Macro & Micro-Test GBS + Easy Amp System is designed to support healthcare professionals with rapid molecular diagnostics when every minute counts.

Key features include:

-Direct-from-Swab Testing – Detects GBS directly from vaginal/rectal swabs, eliminating the need for overnight culture enrichment.

-Positive Results in as Little as 5 Minutes – Supporting timely clinical decision-making when every minute matters.

-On-Demand Molecular Testing – Independent modular design enables flexible testing whenever clinical decisions are needed.

-High Analytical Performance – Sensitive molecular detection with a limit of detection (LoD) of 500 copies/mL.

-Flexible & Efficient Workflow – Simple operation that integrates seamlessly into hospitals, clinical laboratories, and other healthcare settings.

By complementing routine prenatal screening, rapid molecular testing helps bridge critical diagnostic gaps when screening information is unavailable or clinical circumstances change unexpectedly.

GBS Awareness Week 2026: Every Answer Matters

This GBS Awareness Week, we celebrate the progress achieved through education and routine screening while recognizing the importance of continuing innovation.

Awareness inspires action. Action enables timely diagnosis.Timely diagnosis supports better clinical decisions.And better clinical decisions help give every newborn the healthiest possible start in life.

Together, healthcare professionals, laboratories, and diagnostic innovators can continue turning awareness into meaningful action—advancing safer pregnancies and healthier beginnings for families around the world.