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<p>National surveillance systems, established and managed by the UK Health Security
Agency (UKHSA), are used to monitor trends, characteristics, and outcomes of Group
B Streptococcus (GBS) infection, vital to prevention efforts. These include the reporting
of cases diagnosed in local microbiology laboratories, and the submission of clinical
isolates to the national reference laboratory. Analyses based on this surveillance
is published in annual reports.</p><p>The UKHSA has jointly co-ordinated periods of
enhanced surveillance with academic and public health collaborators, allowing greater
understanding of risk factors and outcomes of infection, vital in identifying opportunities
for prevention. Data generated through laboratory surveillance is utilised to assess
the impact of prevention efforts.</p><p>The list of notifiable diseases is kept under
review by the Department, with UKHSA involvement. Should GBS be added to the list
of notifiable diseases, the means to assess the impact of this change on surveillance
data will be considered.</p>
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