Group A strep: a post-COVID threat
With global reports of invasive strep A on the rise, we review the recent epidemiology, state of surveillance and control of the disease in Australia
Need to know:
Strep A (Streptococcus pyogenes or group A streptococcus) is estimated to cause over 18 million cases of severe disease and 500,000 deaths worldwide each year.1
The most frequent manifestations of strep A disease are superficial infections, such as pharyngitis and impetigo, spread by direct person-to-person contact.
However, strep A causes a spectrum of disease, ranging from toxin-related manifestations such as scarlet fever and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, to invasive disease, including necrotising fasciitis and post-infectious immune-mediated complications such as acute rheumatic fever (ARF)/rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN).2
