NY POST – A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the number of potentially life-threatening invasive group A strep infections more than doubled from 2013 to 2022.
Most group A strep infections cause mild illnesses like strep throat — but when that bacteria spreads to the blood and deep tissue, it can trigger streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, a lethal bacterial infection that kills 30% of patients.
In advanced stages, STSS can cause necrotizing fasciitis — that is, flesh-eating disease — and even organ failure. Patients are typically prescribed antibiotics to treat the infection, but in severe cases, affected tissue and even entire limbs must be removed.
Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study revealed that cases of invasive group A Streptococcus increased from 3.6 to 8.2 cases per 100,000 persons.
Looking at only 10 states, the study identified more than 21,000 total cases of invasive group A infection over the nine-year period, including nearly 2,000 deaths.
“When you see this high number of deaths, extrapolate that across the country — we’re probably well into more than 10,000 deaths,” Dr. Victor Nizet, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, told NBC News.
The latest study found that infection was particularly high among those 65 years or older, American Indian or Alaska Native people, residents of long-term care facilities, people experiencing homelessness and IV drug users.
The threat of invasive strep to both high-risk groups and the general population has “substantially increased,” the authors notes.
Invasive strep is also on the rise among those who use intravenous drugs, which allows the bacteria to enter the bloodstream.
Increases in popularity of IV fentanyl use could also explain the acceleration because of frequent injections and needle sharing. These behaviors are believed to contribute to the higher infection rate in homeless populations …
