Brain damaged boy’s mother calls for tests for deadly bug during pregnancies

The mother of a boy left brain damaged at birth because of hospital failures today called for all pregnant women to be tested for a potentially deadly bug.

The High Court approved a seven-figure care package for Idriss Abrous, six, after Group B Streptococcus (GBS) wrecked his life. But his mother Olivia Amorim-Abrous said Britain lagged be-hind many nations in dealing with it.

Before Idriss’s birth at Whittington Hospital in Archway on March 5, 2007, maternity staff had diagnosed her as being a carrier of GBS. The court heard that providing simple antibiotics during labour would have prevented it spreading to Idriss. He was unable to cope with the infection and the stresses of labour, and his brain was starved of oxygen.

Left with cerebral palsy, he needs 24-hour care. In 2011, Whittington Hospital NHS trust admitted failing to provide antibiotics or offer a Caesarean, and inadequate monitoring. Mrs Amorim-Abrous, 36, who lived in Muswell Hill and is now in Paris, said: “As labour progressed I suffered fever and couldn’t stop shaking. When Idriss was born he didn’t make a sound and was blue. We’d like to see all pregnant women offered a GBS test, and more staff training.”

GBS, carried by 30 per cent of adults, is harmless until passed to foetuses or newborns, when it can cause meningitis or pneumonia and be fatal. Nineteen countries including the USA and Australia offer all expectant mothers tests, but it is not mandatory in Britain.

Auriana Griffiths of Irwin Mitchell solicitors said the family had been left devastated. Whittington said: “We’re deeply sorry. We welcome the mutually agreed compensation package. We’ve made changes to ensure appropriate care is given to mothers.“ Visit Group B Strep Support at gbss.org.uk