Health Streptococcus A: symptoms, how it is spread and other doubts about the bacterium that has caused two deaths in children in Madrid
In recent months, several European countries have reported an increase in severe cases of disease caused by
group A streptococcus
(
Streptococcus pyogenes).
Specifically, according to the data handled by the World Health Organization (WHO), throughout 2022 the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden have registered an increase in cases of invasive group A streptococcal disease (iGAS ) and scarlet fever,
"mainly in children under 10 years of age"
.
This increase, the organization has indicated in a statement, has been especially notable in the second half of the year.
In the United Kingdom, 851 cases have been registered in week 46 of the year, compared to the 186 average registered in previous years.
This season, in addition, there have been 13 deaths in children under 15 years of age from these infections, a much higher figure than that registered before the pandemic (four deaths were recorded from this problem in both 2017 and 2018).
Due to this increase, health authorities throughout the EU are closely monitoring the evolution of this pathogen,
an old acquaintance with paediatricians.
"It is the most frequent cause of acute pharyngoamigdalitis in children,"
Federico Martinón
, head of the Pediatric Service of the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, explained to this newspaper a few days ago.
These bacteria, which can be present in our throats or on our skin, are spread by close contact with an infected person, through coughing, sneezing, or contact with a break on the skin.
The presence of the pathogen can be detected by
a simple test
after a throat swab is taken by a healthcare professional.
Generally, these bacteria produce mild symptoms, such as pharyngitis, tonsillitis, impetigo or scarlet fever, which are treated with antibiotics;
but rarely the pathogen can also cause serious infections, called invasive strep disease.
The two most serious and least common forms of this disease are
strep toxic shock syndrome
and
necrotizing fasciitis
, both of which are life-threatening.
In addition, the infection can cause damage to the kidney (post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis) or heart.
The
signs that should lead to consult a specialist
are the existence of high fever that lasts more than three or four days, sustained respiratory distress, the existence of vomiting that does not subside, a state of excessive drowsiness or the appearance of extensive reddened areas. on the skin or spots that do not disappear when pressed.
The WHO has urged countries to be vigilant against an increase in iGAS cases similar to that registered in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Ireland, although it emphasizes that the risk to the general population is low.
The increases observed are moderate, no changes in the pathogen or resistance to antibiotic treatment have been identified, the agency recalled.
"For the moment, this is a
professional alert
that should not go beyond or generate alarm in the population," Martinón emphasizes.
"Pediatricians are attentive, we know how to detect and how to act in these cases," Martinón pointed out, along the same lines.
In Spain it is still not clear if an increase in the incidence of these infections is being registered.
As Martinón explains, the increase registered in the United Kingdom and other countries may be "associated with the increase in viral respiratory infections" that is taking place this season due to the lack of exposure in previous years.
Bacterial infections often take advantage of previous viral infections
, notes the pediatrician.
This autumn there has been an increase in viral respiratory infections, such as that caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), so the increase in
bacterial infections
could be a consequence of the increase in viral infections.
Prevention measures to avoid this and other infections are the usual ones: habitual hand washing, covering the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing (never with the hands) and avoiding those affected being in contact with other people.
A recently published study by the UK Health Security Agency suggests that
a nasal flu vaccine
might also offer some protection against strep A infection.
Their data is based on a comparison of the rates of infection by streptococcus A in areas where the nasal vaccine had been administered and others where this vaccination had not occurred.
The study has shown significant differences.
Thus, the infection rates were 73.5 per 100,000 children in the 'vaccinated' areas and 93 per 100,000 children in the 'unvaccinated' areas.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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