Dec 11, 2022 02:19 AM
(This post was last modified: Dec 11, 2022 02:24 AM by C C.)
(US) Possible Increase in Invasive Group A Strep Infections, 2022
https://www.cdc.gov/groupastrep/igas-inf...ation.html
CDC is looking into a possible increase in invasive group A strep (iGAS) infections among children in the United States. iGAS infections include necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.
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(UK) Why is strep A surging — and how worried are scientists?
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04403-y
EXCERPTS: As the days lengthen and temperatures rise each spring, British paediatricians know what to expect: an increase in group A streptococcal infections that should tail off by the summer. But an off-season outbreak of the bacterial infections this year has jumbled expectations, made scores of people ill and killed 13 children under the age of 15 in England since September.
“To my knowledge, we’ve never seen a peak like this at this time of year, at least not for decades,” says microbiologist Shiranee Sriskandan at Imperial College London.
One theory is that lack of exposure to group A Streptococcus (strep A) during lockdowns at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic means that young children lack immunity against the bacteria. But it is too early to say for certain if this is behind the strep A surge, says molecular microbiologist Claire Turner at the University of Sheffield, UK.
“There are a lot of things that seem to be a bit strange happening after the lockdowns,” she says “But it’s hard to say whether that’s causing the surge right now, especially given that we have had surges prior to the pandemic.”
[...] A similar pattern of off-season strep A infections is being observed in other countries too, says microbiologist Nina van Sorge at the Amsterdam University Medical Center. “It’s definitely not just a UK thing,” she says. “Cases are still remarkably high in the Netherlands.”
[...] If the current surge is related to pandemic social distancing, the hope is that cases will return to their normal seasonal patterns in the coming years, once community levels of immunity are bolstered, says van Sorge. “I would sincerely hope that after this surge, kids will have been exposed again, they will build up immunity — and that’s it.” (MORE - missing details)
https://www.cdc.gov/groupastrep/igas-inf...ation.html
CDC is looking into a possible increase in invasive group A strep (iGAS) infections among children in the United States. iGAS infections include necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.
- - - - - -
(UK) Why is strep A surging — and how worried are scientists?
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04403-y
EXCERPTS: As the days lengthen and temperatures rise each spring, British paediatricians know what to expect: an increase in group A streptococcal infections that should tail off by the summer. But an off-season outbreak of the bacterial infections this year has jumbled expectations, made scores of people ill and killed 13 children under the age of 15 in England since September.
“To my knowledge, we’ve never seen a peak like this at this time of year, at least not for decades,” says microbiologist Shiranee Sriskandan at Imperial College London.
One theory is that lack of exposure to group A Streptococcus (strep A) during lockdowns at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic means that young children lack immunity against the bacteria. But it is too early to say for certain if this is behind the strep A surge, says molecular microbiologist Claire Turner at the University of Sheffield, UK.
“There are a lot of things that seem to be a bit strange happening after the lockdowns,” she says “But it’s hard to say whether that’s causing the surge right now, especially given that we have had surges prior to the pandemic.”
[...] A similar pattern of off-season strep A infections is being observed in other countries too, says microbiologist Nina van Sorge at the Amsterdam University Medical Center. “It’s definitely not just a UK thing,” she says. “Cases are still remarkably high in the Netherlands.”
[...] If the current surge is related to pandemic social distancing, the hope is that cases will return to their normal seasonal patterns in the coming years, once community levels of immunity are bolstered, says van Sorge. “I would sincerely hope that after this surge, kids will have been exposed again, they will build up immunity — and that’s it.” (MORE - missing details)