After 5 Child Deaths, Invasive Strep Remains An Acute Threat In Illinois

ILLINOIS — Cases of invasive group A strep infections are still making people sick in Illinois and other parts of the country, public health officials warned Wednesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its preliminary 2023 data shows group A strep infections are occurring at rates above those seen before the pandemic.

Illinois health officials said recently that the state has already seen more cases of group A stress infections this year than it did in any of the previous five years, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Public Health told Patch on Thursday.

Five pediatric deaths related to the infections have already been reported in Illinois, and the state’s health director warned that the infections are leading to “severe” health complications.

“These cases, known as invasive Group A strep, are the result of disease spreading from the throat to blood, muscle, and lungs. I urge parents to contact their health providers when their children start showing early symptoms,” Dr. Sameer Vohra, the IDPH director, said in a news release. “These symptoms include sudden onset of sore throat, pain when swallowing, and fever. Early detection is critical, as strep can be diagnosed with a simple test and treated with antibiotics.”

He warned that if able, parents should make sure everyone in the house is up to date with flu and chickenpox vaccines and that having either the flu or chickenpox can increase risk of contracting invasive Group A strep.

The bacteria is commonly carried by people in their noses and throats or on the skin, but in its invasive form, it can invade parts of the body that are normally free from germs. This more severe type of strep is usually seen in children, but the CDC said some areas of the country are seeing it more often in adults, including those 65 and older.

Like other contagious illnesses, invasive group Strep A cases dropped during the social distancing of the pandemic, falling to the lowest number of cases on record since 1997 among school-aged kids.

Mild and moderate strep infections are usually treated with amoxicillin, which is in short supply. Alternative therapies are available. Invasive group A strep roared back last year amid the shortage of drugs to treat it, although there’s no data link as yet between those developments, the CDC said.

A week after the CDC’s December warning of an uptick in cases, the World Health Organization reported invasive Group A infections were also increasing in several other countries.

Invasive group strep A is both dangerous and rare, with anywhere between 14,000 and 25,000 illnesses a year in the United States. The fatality rate is around 1,500 to 2,300 people a year, according to the CDC.

Any strep A case warrants a trip to the doctor. Typical symptoms include fever, sore throat, and difficulty swallowing.

Parents and caregivers should also keep an eye out for symptoms of toxic shock syndrome— fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea, and vomiting — and the so-called “flesh-eating” disease, necrotizing fasciitis — a fast-spreading swollen area on the skin, severe pain and fever, along with blisters, changes in skin color or pus at the infected area.