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This winter, Europe is experiencing an unusual surge in Strep A, particularly in the UK.
The social distancing and infection protection measures we all took during the pandemic have led to a general reduction in immunity for other common infections, like Strep A.
Those that would have contracted Strep A in 2020 – 2021, are becoming infected this winter instead. The UK has been hit particularly hard, with many more hospitalisations than usual, mainly impacting children aged 10-14 years, followed by older adults aged 75 years and above. Rising cases have also been reported in Ireland, France, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden and the USA. Strep A testing is now available.
Mark Hewlett, Global CEO at 2San explains, “The pandemic introduced self-diagnostic testing to the UK with lateral flow testing. Now, we are seeing a growing demand from consumers and retailers to have a wide range of home testing available to them.
Strep A is the latest health concern for many families so bringing a self-diagnostic solution to market quickly was imperative for us. We’re uniting with retail partners old and new alike to ensure these are as quickly and widely accessible as possible.”
Strep A is a widespread bacteria known as Group A streptococcus, or Streptococcus pyogenes. It is highly contagious and spreads through respiratory droplets that are produced when talking, coughing, or sneezing. It can also spread through touching something with those droplets on, and then touching the mouth or nose.
While Strep A can be carried in the mouth and throat without experiencing any symptoms at all, it is also the cause of several very common childhood illnesses including scarlet fever, sore throats—more commonly referred to as strep throat—and skin infections such as impetigo.
Symptoms typically take two to five days to manifest after exposure and infection rates are typically more common in children than adults - most common among 5 to 15 year olds. Strep throat can be very painful and may develop into an all-over body rash that feels like sandpaper, called scarlet fever. The UK alone has reported more than 6,600 cases of scarlet fever in the last twelve weeks.
The common signs and symptoms of scarlet fever include:
- Flu-like symptoms:
- High temperature
- Sore throat that can start very quickly, pain when swallowing
- Headache
- Swollen lymph nodes (a painful lump) in the front of the neck
- A rash appears 12-48 hours later
- Fine, pinkish or red body rash
- Red cheeks
- On darker skin tones redness can be hard to see but the rash will have a sandpapery feel - A white coating on the tongue: this can peel leaving it red and swollen with little bumps (“strawberry tongue”)
Source: Scarlet fever - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Most cases of scarlet fever can be treated at home with antibiotics from the GP and should not require a trip to A&E.
Rarely, Strep A infection can get into the bloodstream and cause an illness called invasive Group A strep (iGAS). If your child seems seriously unwell, you should trust your judgement. Possible signs include:
- Symptoms getting worse (after seeing a GP)
- Eating or feeding less than normal
- Dry nappy, not peeing, or showing other signs of dehydration
- Under 3 months and has a temperature of over 38 degrees, or older than 3 months and a temperature of over 39 degrees
- Feels hotter than usual or is sweaty
- Tired or more irritable than usual
Vital steps can be taken to reduce transmission and, by now, we all know the drill. Teach children how to wash their hands properly with soap for 20 seconds; use tissues to catch coughs and sneezes; keep away from others when feeling unwell and use self-diagnostic tests to understand the infectious window to maximise safety and minimise unnecessary days isolating.
Infection can be treated with commonly available antibiotics - penicillin being the gold standard – but asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infections do not typically require antibiotic treatment.
Dr Cosima Gretton from 2San’s Scientific Advisory Committee commented, “We’re working hard to educate consumers about how to interpret the test and what to do with the results, so as not to place additional burden on the health system. Overall, we believe that empowering patients with information in their homes using high quality diagnostics will benefit the system by reducing unnecessary visits and improving public health.”
2San is a supplier of affordable, accessible, sustainable, and high-quality products to the global healthcare market, and supplies a strep A self-diagnostic test in the UK. The Strep A self-diagnostic test is a Swab Test is a rapid chromatographic immunoassay for detection of group A streptococcal antigen from throat swab specimens. The test provides an accurate diagnosis in 10 minutes.
