CDC urges local doctors to watch for dangerous strep infection in kids

Federal health officials are telling local clinicians to watch for a dangerous form of strep infections among children in the U.S.

The recent alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes after several fatalities in the U.K. among children with invasive group A strep (iGAS) infections, as well as two deaths in Colorado suspected to be linked to the infection. Those two children were younger than school-age, officials said.

The CDC said it is looking into an increase in these infections in certain regions. Health officials in New York state and New York City said Tuesday they have not yet detected any uptick.

According to the CDC, group A Streptococcus bacteria can cause common illnesses such as strep throat as well as skin and soft tissue infections. Although less frequent, it can also cause severe and potentially deadly diseases including sepsis, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis.

The CDC asked doctors to notify health officials about any "unusually aggressive or severe iGAS cases affecting children younger than 18 years of age or clusters of iGAS infections in persons of any age."

Dr. James Schneider, chief of pediatric critical care at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, said he is not aware of an increase in New York state.

“The invasive group A strep infections we would definitely see in the ICU and I haven’t really seen any significant uptake in that at all, which is a good thing,” he said.

Schneider said both streptococcal toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis can lead to low blood pressure and multi organ failure. With necrotizing fasciitis, the strep infection gets into the soft tissue and even the muscle layers of the body.

He said symptoms of invasive group A strep include high fever, severe redness of the skin and muscle pains. Anyone with those symptoms should be evaluated.

Dr. Leonard Krilov, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at NYU Langone — Long Island, said the increase in invasive strep A could be due to the viral infections that are currently circulating such as flu, RSV and COVID-19.

“They can inflame the throat area,” he said. “And if they get strep on top of it, it gives it more potential to invade and cause these aggressive diseases.”

Another virus of concern can be chickenpox, known as varicella.

“One of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last several years has been a decrease in routine childhood vaccinations," he said. “There are pockets with decreased chickenpox and measles vaccinations so there’s some risk there as well.”

Strep A is a very contagious bacteria spread by coughing, sneezing and physical contact, Schneider said

“Hand hygiene is critical,” he said. “If you're coughing or sneezing, cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue and throw it out. Most importantly, if you are coughing, sneezing and have a sore throats and fevers, you should try to avoid large groups of people and close contact with people.”

Being up-to-date on the annual flu, varicella and COVID-19 vaccine is also important, he said.

Krilov said early recognition of an infection is vital.

“These are treatable with antibiotics,” he said.

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.