Several children’s hospitals in the United States have detected an increase in invasive group A streptococcal infections. It is a serious and sometimes life-threatening disease that occurs when bacteria spread to normally sterile areas of the body, such as the blood.
Children’s hospitals in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Washington told NBC News that they are seeing more cases than average this season compared to previous years.
James Versalovic, M.D., chief pathologist at Texas Children’s, said his facility — the largest pediatric hospital in the United States — has seen a “more than four-fold increase in potentially invasive infections over the past two months,” compared to the same period. ” said he did. 2021 years.
Texas Children’s recorded about 60 of these cases in October and November, he said.
At least 15 children have died in the UK from invasive group A streptococcus since mid-September. said in last week’s recommendation The cases tend to rise sharply in the new year, but it seems to have spiked sooner than expected.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, said it “has heard anecdotes from some US doctors that the number of cases may rise.” [invasive group A strep] Infection among children in the United States” and “we are in talks with monitoring sites and hospitals in multiple states to learn more.”
Group A streptococci, the same bacteria that cause streptococcal pharyngitis, are scarlet fever (a red rash that feels like sandpaper and resembles a sunburn) and impetigo (a red, itchy rash with yellow scabs). It also causes skin conditions such as scars.
Some people with invasive group A streptococcus may also develop these conditions, but often the first sign of invasive group A streptococcus is a secondary infection such as pneumonia or carnivorous disease. .
“These are cases that go beyond the usual streptococcal pharyngitis,” said Versalovic.
Invasive infections can cause:
- A lower respiratory tract infection, such as pneumonia or empyema, characterized by pockets of pus in the fluid-filled spaces around the lungs. Early signs of such infections include fever, chills, difficulty breathing, and chest pain.
- Skin infections such as cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis are also known as cannibalism. Both conditions include a red, warm, swollen, or painful rash. Necrotizing fasciitis spreads quickly and may turn into ulcers, blisters, or dark spots.
- Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome, an immune response that can lead to organ failure. The condition often begins with fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea or vomiting, and a rapid heart rate and breathing.
Anyone can be infected with invasive streptococcus A, including healthy adults, but people over the age of 65 and those with chronic diseases are more susceptible. It is not yet clear why hospitals are seeing an increase in cases, especially among children. The CDC said this may be related to the rollback of Covid mitigation measures and the current surge in respiratory viruses such as influenza, Covid and RSV.
Sam Dominguez, Ph.D., infectious disease specialist at Colorado Children’s Hospital and professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said:
America record millions Noninvasive group A streptococci occur annually, but invasive infections are rare, with approximately 14,000 to 25,000 cases annually, according to the CDC. Between 1,500 and 2,300 people die each year from these invasive infections.
The CDC says it has observed a decline in these infections in all age groups over the past two years.
In the UK, 27 children died from 2017-2018, the last spike in similar cases.
At Phoenix Children’s Hospital, cases have been on the rise since late October or early November, according to Dr. Wasim Balan, head of the infectious disease department. But he said the condition is rare compared to respiratory syncytial virus and influenza.
“We know that this is an increase in the number of cases, but the absolute numbers themselves are not that great,” Baran said.
Unlike respiratory syncytial virus and influenza, which tend to pose the most serious threat to very young children, doctors say they are now treating children of all ages for invasive group A streptococci.
“We have kids of all kinds, from teenagers to young children,” says Dr. Sarah Vola, an infectious disease specialist at Seattle Children.
“We had a pretty sick teenager come in last week, he came in with symptoms of sepsis, was in the ICU on a ventilator for a few days, then recovered pretty quickly and is doing very well. Probably what I’ve seen. It’s the most serious case of all.”
However, children’s hospitals in several other states (California, New York, Illinois, Minnesota) said they had not detected an increase in invasive group A streptococci.
Parents concerned about their child’s health should seek emergency medical care if their child is more sleepy or lethargic than usual, has trouble eating or drinking, or is excessively dehydrated and not producing urine. Seeking medical attention should be considered.
As a general rule, Vora said, “If your child isn’t behaving correctly, has symptoms worse than a common cold, or has symptoms that last more than two days, it’s worth getting tested.” suggesting.
It is important that children with streptococci receive treatment as soon as possible so that they can start taking antibiotics such as penicillin.
“The sooner you get the antibiotics right, the quicker you’ll recover,” Dominguez said.
