— two rare, invasive bacterial infections that spread swiftly through the body and can result in death. Unlike a typical strep A infection, an iGAS infection is indicated by signs including high fever, confusion, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting and a rash that spreads to the entire body, with the illness quickly worsening soon after symptoms appear.
“The increase is most likely related to high amounts of circulating bacteria,” the agency said. “It isn’t possible to say for certain what is causing higher than usual rates of these infections. There is likely a combination of factors, including increased social mixing compared to the previous years as well as increases in other respiratory viruses.”wreaking havoc on health care systems
“The hypothesis is that when you get influenza, the virus can then compromise the various layers of the respiratory tract that are protective, and that makes the individual more susceptible,” she said. “Then, if they're exposed to [strep A], it can then move on to causing an iGAS infection.”If you or your child is experiencing strep A symptoms, you should visit your health care provider or an urgent care center to do a rapid test, which can determine if strep A is the culprit.
“It's very rare,” she said of iGAS. “And I think that's why it's important to put this in perspective. The vast majority of people have the milder manifestations of [strep A] that are easily treatable with antibiotics.”There is no vaccine for strep A, butthat coinfection of viruses with strep A “may increase the risk of iGAS disease,” so it’s important to make sure your child gets the seasonal flu vaccine.
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