According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cases of invasive strep throat strains have risen steadily in some parts of the United States.
Surveillance studies published in JAMA showed that the incidence of Group A streptococcal (gas) infections had a “severe increase” between 2013 and 2022.
The affected states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Tennessee.
Streptococcal infections have skyrocketed above pre-Covid highs, the report said:
The survey found that the overall incidence rate has more than doubled, from 3.6 to 8.2 cases per 100,000 people at the time.
In recent years, group A streptococcus (gas) cases have increased in 10 US states. (istock)
The infection rate was high among long-term care facilities, homeless populations, and residents of injectable drug users.
The incidence was highest among people over 65 years of age, but the relative increase was highest among adults aged 18-64 years.
“Accelerating efforts are needed to prevent and control gas, particularly among the groups at the highest risk of infection,” CDC researchers concluded in the study.
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According to a Cidrap press release from the University of Minnesota, gas is best known for causing non-invasive diseases such as the strep throat and Impetigo.
This strain can also cause more severe infections such as sepsis, necrotizing fasciitis, and streptococcal virulence shock syndrome.
Gas can lead to more severe infections such as sepsis and streptococci toxic shock syndrome. (istock)
The researchers identified invasive gases in 21,213 cases, resulting in 20,247 hospitalizations and 1,981 deaths.
Bacterial cellulitis is the most common disease caused by gas, according to a press release, followed by septic shock, pneumonia and bacteria in the bloodstream without obvious causes (known as unfocused bacteremia).
“Recent virus attacks, including Covid-19, have weakened people’s immune systems.”
In a accompanying Jama editorial, Dr. Joshua Osowicki, PhD and PhD, a pediatric infectious disease doctor at Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, said that gas cases have risen worldwide following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In either form from skin or soft tissue infections, pneumonia, bone, joint infections, or sepsis without a clear clinical focus, invasive gases are insidious and unpredictable, allowing us to test the life-saving capabilities of the world’s most advanced medical capabilities,” he writes.
“We really need a vaccine for this, but we don’t have it,” Dr. Mark Siegel shared. (istock)
“The surge in invasive and non-invasive gas diseases in 2022 and 2023 have been reported in countries spanning the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with new reports that the same phenomenon is still evident.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst at Fox News, commented that gas is something that can be “very life-threatening” and “misunderstood,” so early intervention is necessary.
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“We really need a vaccine for this, but we don’t have it,” he told Fox News Digital.
“(It’s) dramatically increasing among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, including homeless people, substance abusers, people with increasing skin damage, and people who share needles.”
The infection is also linked to the use of IV fentanyl as part of the opioid epidemic, Siegel added.
After infiltrating cases during the coronavirus pandemic, infection rates were 30% higher than the previous peak seen in February 2017. (istock)
According to a report by Epic Research, in 2023 there was a surge in strept infections caused by gas surges, mainly in children.
After infiltrating cases during the coronavirus pandemic, infection rates were 30% higher than the previous peak seen in February 2017, the report found.
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Dr. Shana Johnson, Physics Medicine and Rehabilitation Physics in Scottsdale, Arizona, previously shared with Fox News Digital.
In an interview with Fox News Digital at the time, Siegel reported that the spikes in the case are likely the result of other circulating viruses.
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“Recent virus attacks, including Covid-19, have undermined people’s immune systems,” he said. “We also didn’t keep an eye on them and we missed the case.”
According to Johnson, Group A streptococci are best treated with antibiotics, unless they have a more severe illness.
“Streptococcal antibiotics reduce the time you get sick, prevent the infection from becoming more serious and spreading to other parts of the body,” she said.
Group A Streptococcus cases in 2023 were most identified in children aged 4-13. (istock)
According to the CDC, an infected person is coughing, sneezing or giving a lecture, but spreading through the skin’s infectious pain, and when an infected person coughs, sneezing or giving a lecture, it is generally spreading into a droplet.
To reduce spreads, doctors tell them to wash their hands frequently with soap and water, avoid sharing glasses or cooking utensils with infected people, and cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
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“If you have a throat throat, you’ll be home until your fever is gone and you take antibiotics for at least 24 hours,” advised Johnson.
Fox News Digital reached the CDC for comment.
