could this be an answer?

i was discussing the whole GBS (see below) thing with my dad. the most interesting part in all of that is not that i'm most certainly a carrier (since i've already had 2 outbreaks) but that this may be the reason i had meningitus as a baby!

see, when i was born i had meningitus. i was very critical and almost died. because of that i have lived with a hearing loss in my left ear my whole life. (in fact, in elementry school they used to do hearing tests on a yearly basis. one year the people thought their machine was broken because i wasnt responding to any of their prompts!)

anyway, my parents nor the doctors knew how i contracted meningitus. well, look at this information:

Babies can become infected at birth or later on. There is no difference in
the infection rate of the baby if a woman delivers vaginally or has a cesarean
section. Those who become infected with GBS at birth -- so-called early-onset
GBS -- may develop pneumonia or meningitis. Babies who survive the initial
infection, particularly those who have meningitis, may have long-term problems,
such as hearing or vision loss or learning disabilities.

unfortunalty, my mother passed away almost 9 years ago, so nobody knows for sure if she had been tested for GBS while pregnant. probably not, since the awareness of this disease didnt really start until the mid to late 1970's. i've spoken to a few women though who say they were not tested back then either. my dad will see if he still has any of mom's medical records and if so will check. he thinks i may have stumbled upon the meningitus mystery, though!

there is so much good information out there about GBS. another great website: http://www.cdc.gov/groupbstrep/general/gen_public_faq.htm

if anyone reading this is pregnant, or soon to be, or even knows someone who is pregant, please pass on the information. it could literally save a life!