Nairobi Hosts Historic ISSAD 2026 Conference as Dr. Hellen Barsosio Leads Global Push Against Deadly Group B Strep

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By Irene 



Nairobi has become the centre of global health attention as scientists, policymakers, and vaccine developers gather for the 2026 International Symposium on Streptococcus agalactiae Disease (ISSAD), marking the first time the premier conference is being held in East Africa.

Running from February 23 to 25, the landmark meeting brings together experts from more than 40 countries to accelerate progress toward preventing Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a leading cause of neonatal sepsis, postpartum infections, and infant mortality worldwide.

The choice of Nairobi reflects the region’s high disease burden and offers a rare opportunity for frontline healthcare workers, policymakers, and affected communities to engage directly with global experts.

According to global estimates presented at the symposium, between 18 and 20 million pregnant women — roughly one in five worldwide — carry GBS annually. The bacterium is responsible for about 400,000 invasive infections in infants each year, including sepsis and meningitis, and is linked to approximately 91,000 infant deaths and 46,200 stillbirths globally. The burden falls disproportionately on low- and middle-income countries, where access to screening, preventive antibiotics during childbirth, and advanced neonatal care remains uneven.

ISSAD 2026 is chaired by Hellen Barsosio, a clinical research scientist with the Kenya Medical Research Institute and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine collaboration. She also co-leads the Maternal Immunisation Readiness Network in Africa & Asia (MIRNA), bringing regional expertise to this year’s theme: From Evidence to Action – Accelerating GBS Prevention in a Changing World.
“Hosting ISSAD 2026 in Nairobi presents a transformative opportunity to center the voices and experiences of the communities most affected by GBS disease,” Dr. Barsosio said, noting the strong representation of researchers from low- and middle-income countries where the disease burden is heaviest.
GBS causes severe infections in newborns, including sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis, and increasingly affects adults — particularly pregnant women, the elderly, and individuals with weakened immunity. Despite decades of research, no licensed vaccine exists. Current prevention strategies rely largely on antibiotics administered during labour, an approach that has limited reach in resource-constrained settings.
The conference has received backing from the Ministry of Health and national research institutions, underscoring Kenya’s growing role as a regional health innovation hub.
Day one features a comprehensive scientific agenda examining vaccine candidates currently in clinical trials, including maternal immunisation strategies that could protect both mothers and newborns. Plenary sessions will present updated global and regional disease burden estimates, highlight surveillance gaps, and explore infant infections, adult disease patterns in low-income settings, and emerging genomics research reshaping understanding of GBS transmission.
Experts will also examine surveillance challenges and present new findings on GBS-associated stillbirths, prematurity, and maternal disease, drawing on data from global monitoring networks.
The symposium’s East African setting creates new opportunities to strengthen collaboration between researchers, health systems, and communities in high-burden regions. Previous ISSAD meetings in Europe and South Africa have catalysed advances in research and policy; the 2026 edition aims to accelerate the transition from scientific evidence to policy implementation in resource-limited settings.
Additional sessions through February 25 will focus on vaccine implementation readiness, diagnostic innovation, and antimicrobial resistance as the global health community intensifies efforts to end preventable GBS disease.
About ISSAD
The International Symposium on Streptococcus agalactiae Disease (ISSAD) is the leading global forum dedicated to advancing prevention strategies and improving outcomes for mothers and children worldwide.
About MIRNA
The Maternal Immunisation Readiness Network in Africa & Asia (MIRNA) works across nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to strengthen maternal immunisation programmes in preparation for new life-saving vaccines aimed at improving fetal and infant health.

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