What you should know about symptoms, risks and treatment

GAS is the bacterium responsible for the dreaded streptococcal pharyngitis common in children.

Bacteria can also cause more serious illnesses, such as scarlet fever, which causes a rash and fever, and impetigo, which causes sores.

The UK alert was issued after authorities confirmed 851 cases were reported in a week in mid-November this year. The average for the same week last year was 186, but it’s the death toll that’s alarming. <10 years – from Invasive GAS (iGAS).

Doctor Jessica MaddenA board-certified pediatrician and neonatal specialist, who also serves as the medical director of Aeroflow Breastpumps in parallel with her practice, is aware of the challenges associated with this surge in streptococcal A infections, particularly streptococcal pharyngitis. One, he says, is that the symptoms of other conditions can mask their symptoms. In front of you.

In addition, the child may have multiple diseases at the same time with similar symptoms.

“The definite prevalence of Strep A in the pediatric population this autumn and early winter, and the great confusion of so many different upper respiratory tract viral diseases, is due to the fact that children with both at the same time “I think there are a lot of them,” Madden said. “They have influenza A, but they also have streptococcal pharyngitis. and may miss strep throat because many of these other viral diseases can cause a very, very bad sore throat with enlarged lymph nodes. node.

Another challenge for healthcare workers is that unlike the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), the US system reports these conditions differently.

Pediatric infectious disease expert and researcher Dr. Anthony Flores (MD, PhD) Texas Health College and Houston’s Memorial Herman Children’s Hospital are making conditions like scarlet fever difficult to track.

“Historically, this has been done through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so we have something called active bacterial core surveillance that monitors invasive disease,” Flores said. “Usually, what they’re most concerned about is what’s called invasive disease, where these bacteria enter normally sterile areas, enter the bloodstream, enter bones, joints, etc. Scarlet fever. is not traditionally considered an invasive disease and has not been followed.”

However, for invasive GAS, the CDC does not estimate the number of cases over the past five years. Between 14,000 and 25,000 in the USAccording to the CDC, it averages 1,500 to 2,300 deaths per year.

Dr. Christina JonesHe is a pediatric emergency physician in Annapolis, Maryland and a senior medical advisor at PM Pediatric Care.

“The difficult part about these … rare cases of invasive group A streptococci is that children can get sick very quickly,” Johns said. It is a situation in which the severity of the disease changes very rapidly from 0 to 60, and rapid deterioration of the condition requires constant attention.”

symptoms scarlet fever and gas

• Scarlet fever often has a characteristic sandpaper-like rash.
• Invasive GAS is associated with very high fever and can lead to the potentially fatal state of sepsis.
• Impetigo often includes what Dr. Johns calls a “honey-colored crust” on the skin.
• Experts say if a child has symptoms and doesn’t seem to be alert or responsive as usual, head to the ER immediately.

UKHSA has identified the last spike in 2017-2018 and attributes this year’s epidemic in part to increased socializing.

These spikes occur at times when you wouldn’t normally see them, says Dr. Flores. The spike appears to occur in November and he in December, instead of he in April and he in May. He attributes these rising rates, as well as the vast number of his RSV cases he sees in the pediatric system, to a combination of lack of previous exposure and increased masking over the past few years. .

“Close contact with other individuals facilitates its transmission, so masking was very effective in stopping it. We’re closer, so I think we’re seeing higher infection rates than we’ve seen in the last few years.”

The most common treatment for GAS is prescription of the antibiotic amoxicillin. Some parts of the country are running out of common antibiotics, but with other options available, there’s little reason to panic, Johns says.

“I think this is the sort of situation that gets very quickly wrapped up in some very scary hype. ‘Oh, this is the bacterium that causes strep throat. My kid has strep throat. Does this mean my child will die?” And I think it’s important to point out that group A streptococci are always found in pediatric settings. ”

As for prevention, the bacteria are highly contagious and require treatment with antibiotics. If the infection shows signs such as cracks on the skin, it is important to cover those areas to reduce the risk of infection.