Publish Time: 2024-12-03 Origin: Bioteke
Since the fall and winter of 2023, Group A Streptococcus, known as the "man-eating bacteria", has been spreading rapidly in Japan, and Tokyo has issued an epidemic alert for streptococcal infection for the first time. The main reason for public opinion and public panic is that the pathogen can cause streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), which is a statutory infectious disease in Japan. The number of cases in Japan has reached a record high.
The initial symptoms of infection include sore throat and fever, and then the disease rapidly develops into low blood pressure, multiple organ failure and even shock, mostly post-traumatic infection or post-operative infection. The mortality rate of the disease in Japan from 2018 to 2023 was between 16.4% and 28.5%. Due to the relatively high mortality rate of the disease, the pathogen is called "man-eating bacteria" in Japan.
According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, as of June 30, the total number of case reports in 2024 reached 1,126, exceeding the 941 cases reported in 2023.
Group A Streptococcus is the most common pathogen and important pathogen in the world, and is one of the top ten infectious disease pathogens that cause death in children worldwide.
Streptococci are widely found in nature, human and animal feces, and the nasopharynx of healthy people. Most of them are non-pathogenic.
According to the different antigenic structures of the streptococcal cell wall, they can be divided into 20 groups, including A~H, K~V, according to the serogroup. According to the different hemolysis of streptococci after reproduction on serum agar plates, they can be divided into α-hemolytic, β-hemolytic and non-hemolytic streptococci.
90% of streptococci pathogenic to humans belong to group A, which is also called streptococcus pyogenes (streptococcus pyogenes).
After infection, patients may develop toxic shock syndrome (STSS), which is characterized by rapid progression of the disease and high mortality.
According to the World Health Organization(WHO), approximately 517,000 patients die from various diseases caused by streptococcal infection each year worldwide, of which about 30% die from invasive streptococcal infection and nearly 70% die from rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease, acute glomerulonephritis and other diseases caused by streptococcal infection.
| Infection season | Winter, spring, rainy Season |
| Susceptible population | Children aged 5-15, the elderly, people with underlying respiratory diseases and people with weakened immunity |
| Infection site | Pharynx, skin surface |
| Mode of transmission | Droplets, skin and mucous membrane contact, aerosol |
| Symptom | Non-invasive infections such as pharyngeal infections (including pharyngitis/tonsillitis), skin infections (impetigo), etc. Invasive infections include pneumonia, bacteremia, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, arthritis, meningitis, necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS). |
| Duration | 7-14 days |
Microbiological Culture
Bacterial culture of pharyngeal swabs is the "gold standard" for diagnosing respiratory GAS infections (including streptococcal pharyngitis, scarlet fever, and carriers caused by GAS infection), with a sensitivity of 90% to 95%.
Serum Antibody Diagnosis
Anti-Streptolysin O (ASO): ASO begins to increase about 2-3 weeks after human infection with GAS, reaches a peak about 4-5 weeks after infection, and the titer decreases in the following months. , it returns to normal after about 6-8 months. ASO has no significant clinical significance for the early diagnosis of GAS in the acute phase.
Antigen Detection
The test specimen is a pharyngeal swab, and the methodology is immunochromatography. Currently, there are commercial kits, which are commonly used in clinical practice for screening of respiratory GAS infection. Compared with bacterial culture, the specificity is 95%, and the sensitivity is 70-90%.
Molecular Biological Diagnosis
The current "gold standard" of molecular biological methods for GAS research is the detection of the emm gene nucleic acid fragment encoding the M protein in GAS invented by the US CDC, which can also perform genotyping. It has not yet been used clinically, but is often used in scientific research and epidemiological monitoring.
Bioteke's 8-in-1 respiratory multiple pathogen antigen rapid test kit uses immunochromatography and double antibody sandwich methods to qualitatively detect multiple pathogens including group A streptococci in vitro.
The kit has good performance, with a sensitivity of 90.91%, a specificity of 100%, and an accuracy of 98.76%.
It can assist in screening and screening and diagnosing respiratory infections in scenarios such as flu season and close contact with patients to protect the health of yourself and your family.
The kit is CE certified and is suitable for many scenarios such as clinics, pharmacies, homes, and medical laboratories.
For product details and more antigen test kits, or for business cooperation, please visit the Bioteke website to contact us.
Website: www.bioteke.cn
Address: No.9 Huiming Road, Huishan District, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China 214174
Tel/Whatsapp: +86 13357927939
E-mail: zr@bioteke,cn
References
【1】 "Group A Streptococcus infection and respiratory tract infection", Chinese Journal of Practical Pediatrics, 2022, 37(21): 1622-1625. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.cn101070-20220520-00582
【2】 "Expert consensus on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of group A streptococcal infection-related diseases in Chinese children", Chinese Journal of Practical Pediatrics, 2022, 37(21): 1604-1618. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.cn101070-20220815-00974
【3】 "Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome", Chinese Journal of Practical Pediatrics, 2022, 37(21): 1622-1625. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.cn101070-20220520-00582
Telephone/Whatsapp: +86 13357927939