Streptococcus agalactiae also known as Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a major cause of disease in pregnant women and new born babies. In neonates GBS causes early-onset and late-onset disease characterised by sepsis, pneumonia, septicaemia and meningitis. Ten to forty percent of pregnant women in the world are colonised by GBS. Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis has led to a significant reduction in early onset disease. However increase in drug resistant microorganisms has become a major threat. Vaccine development has been elusive and slow hence need to explore new and safer alternatives to treatment. Benzylpenicillin, Ampicillin, Cefotaxime, Ceftriaxone, Levofloxacin, Erythromycin, Clindamycin, Linezolid, Vancomycin, Tetracycline, Cotrimoxazole and Clea europaea plant extracts and essential oils were tested against GBS isolates, isolated from pregnant women. All isolates showed 100% sensitivity to benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, ceftriaxone, levofloxacin, linezoid and vancomycin. Only one isolate was resistant to cefotaxime. Thirty six isolates and sixteen isolates were resistant to clindamycin and erythromycin respectively. All isolates tested negative for the genes coding for beta lactumases. GBS isolates showed sensitivity to Olea europaea extracts at low minimum inhibitory concentrations. Beta lactums are still the drugs of choice for treatment of GBS disease. However the extracts of Olea europaea have exhibited significant potential for application as alternative treatment option for GBS
Key words: Olea europaea, Streptococcus agalactiae, antibicrobial, Beta-lactams.