Urgent Alert for WA as Invasive Strain of Strep Afflicts U.S.

Washingtonians need to be made aware of a rather invasive strain of strep throat making the rounds. In fact, cases of strep throat infections have more than doubled in the US. If you've never had strep throat, you're lucky. I usually catch it once a year. It's very painful.

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection more than doubled from 2013-2022.

The Number of Cases Increased From 3.6 to 8.2 Cases Per 100,000 Persons.

The states affected included California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, and Oregon. Among the findings:

• The study identified over 21,000 cases of Invasive GAS.
• There were 20,247 hospitalizations, and 1,981 deaths.

It's important to note that infection rates were reported higher in residents of long-term care facilities, the homeless, and injection drug users. In a CIDRAP release from the University of Minnesota:

One of the contributing factors cited in both the study and the editorial is the substantial increase over the study period in the injection of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which has a relatively short duration of effect and as a result is linked to more frequent injections and higher-risk injection practices, like sharing needles. That could also be contributing to increases observed in the homeless population.

GAS Is Widely Known for Causing Noninvasive Diseases, Such as Strep Throat.

However, the strain may also cause more severe infections like sepsis, necrotizing fasciitis, and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.

Also Read: High Alert for WA & OR as Deadly Fungus Spreads Across US

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Whatever is causing the increase in GAS cases, the study authors agree that it requires urgent attention and that "developing a vaccine should be a priority."