At the end of 2022, the World Health Organization reported an increase in group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections, such as scarlet fever, in multiple countries. The outbreak primarily affected children under 10 years old, and the number of deaths was higher than anticipated, causing international concern. This paper reviews the current state of the GAS disease outbreak, its causes, and response measures. The authors aim to draw attention from clinical workers in China and increase their awareness and vigilance regarding this epidemic. Healthcare workers should be aware of the potential epidemiological changes in infectious diseases that may arise after the optimization of control measures for coronavirus disease 2019 to ensure children's health.
Child ; Humans ; Streptococcus pyogenes ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Streptococcal Infections/epidemiology* ; Scarlet Fever/epidemiology* ; Epidemics ; Disease Outbreaks

Currently, the main strategy for preventing neonatal group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection is prenatal screening combined with intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, which has effectively reduced the incidence of neonatal GBS early-onset disease. However, the burden of GBS infection is still significant. The intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis strategy has limitations such as inducing antibiotic resistance and inability to effectively prevent GBS late-onset disease. It is crucial to develop and evaluate other prevention strategies, while paying close attention to assessing penicillin allergy in pregnant women and how to prevent GBS infection in neonates with negative maternal GBS screening. In recent years, there has been some progress in GBS vaccines and related immunological research, and the use of specific vaccines is expected to significantly reduce GBS infection in neonates.
Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use* ; Antibiotic Prophylaxis ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical/prevention & control* ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/epidemiology* ; Streptococcal Infections/drug therapy* ; Streptococcus agalactiae

Humans ; Young Adult ; Fusobacterium necrophorum ; Pharyngitis/microbiology* ; Streptococcal Infections ; Sepsis/diagnosis*

Animals ; Genomics ; Humans ; Serogroup ; Streptococcal Infections ; Streptococcus suis/isolation & purification* ; Swine ; Swine Diseases

Biofilms ; Humans ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Serogroup ; Streptococcal Infections ; Streptococcus agalactiae/genetics* ; Virulence

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) of group B streptococcus (GBS) infection on the incidence and bacteriological profile of early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 494 pregnant women with positive GBS screening results and 526 neonates born by these women. According to whether the pregnant woman received IAP, the neonates were divided into two groups: IAP (n=304) and control (n=222). The two groups were compared in terms of clinical indices, incidence rate of EONS, and distribution of pathogenic bacteria in blood culture. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the IAP group had a significantly lower proportion of children with abnormal clinical manifestations (P<0.001) and a significantly lower incidence rate of EONS (P=0.022). In the IAP group, Escherichia coli (2.3%) was the most common type of pathogenic bacteria in blood culture of the neonates with EONS, while GBS (3.2%) was the most common type of pathogenic bacteria in the control group. The IAP group had a significantly higher detection rate of ampicillin-resistant Escherichia coli than the control group (P=0.029). CONCLUSIONS Although IAP can significantly reduce the incidence rate of EONS in neonates born to pregnant women with positive GBS screening results, the infection rate of ampicillin-resistant Escherichia coli may increase after IAP treatment. Therefore, it is needed to enhance the monitoring of blood culture results of neonates with EONS and timely adjust treatment plan according to drug susceptibility test results.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use* ; Antibiotic Prophylaxis ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical/prevention & control* ; Neonatal Sepsis/prevention & control* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious ; Retrospective Studies ; Streptococcal Infections/prevention & control* ; Streptococcus agalactiae

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of group B (GBS) colonization in late pregnancy with perinatal outcome. METHODS: Pregnant women who underwent antenatal check-up at General Hospital of PLA Eastern Theater Command and the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2016 to December 2018 were enrolled in the study. The vaginal and rectal swab samples were collected for GBS culture at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy. The perinatal outcomes of positive and negative GBS groups were compared. The GBS-positive group samples were tested for antibiotic susceptibility. In GBS positive group the maternal and child perinatal outcomes were compared between pregnant women with antibiotics treatment and those without antibiotics. RESULTS: A total of 13 000 pregnant women were enrolled, and the overall colonization rate of GBS was 3.65%(475/13 000). The colonization rate of GBS in the vagina was 2.33%(303/13 000), and the colonization rate in the rectum was 1.75%(227/13 000). Through the collection and detection of rectal specimens, the positive rate of GBS increased by 56.77%(172/303). The monthly colonization rate of GBS showed significant fluctuations with the highest in March and October (all < 0.05). The sensitivity of 475 GBS-positive specimens to ceftriaxone, vancomycin and linezolid were 100%, and the sensitivity to ampicillin and penicillin were 97.26%and 93.47%, respectively. The resistance rates of the strains to levofloxacin, clindamycin, erythromycin and tetracycline were 30.11%, 48.00%, 52.21%and 88.63%. The incidence of premature rupture of membranes, postpartum hemorrhage, puerperal infection, neonatal pneumonia and sepsis in GBS positive group were significantly higher than those in GBS negative group (all < 0.01). In pregnant women with positive GBS, the incidence of puerperal infection, neonatal infection and admission to the NICU in the antibiotic group were significantly lower than those in the non-antibiotic group ( < 0.05 or < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The total colonization rate of GBS is low. The detection of GBS can be significantly improved by supplementing rectal examination. Ceftriaxone, ampicillin and penicillin are currently the drugs of choice for the prevention and treatment of GBS-related diseases. GBS infection can increase the incidence of maternal and child complications. The use of antibiotics during labor can improve the outcome of mothers and infants.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Streptococcal Infections ; Streptococcus agalactiae ; Vagina

OBJECTIVE: To study the incidences of group B streptococcus (GBS) colonization in pregnant women and GBS infection in their preterm infants, and to investigate the risk factors for GBS colonization in preterm infants. METHODS: A total of 859 women who delivered before term from January 2017 to January 2018 were enrolled in this prospective cohort study. Bacterial culture was performed for GBS using the swabs collected from the rectum and the lower 1/3 of the vagina of the pregnant women on admission. A total of 515 of the above cases underwent real-time PCR assay for testing of GBS DNA. Bacterial culture was performed for GBS using the oropharyngeal secretion, gastric fluid or blood samples in preterm infants born to the 859 pregnant women. Peripheral blood samples from the pregnant women and umbilical cord blood samples from their preterm infants were collected to determine the level of anti-GBS capsular polysaccharide antibody. The incidence of GBS infection and perinatal risk factors for GBS colonization in the preterm infants were examined. RESULTS: The positive rate for GBS in the rectal and vaginal cultures was 14.8% (127/859) among the 859 pregnant women, and the positive rate in the GBS DNA testing was 15.1% (78/515). There were 976 live-birth preterm infants delivered by 859 pregnant women, and 4.4% (43/976) of whom were GBS positive. Four preterm infants had early-onset GBS diseases, including pneumonia in two cases and sepsis in two cases. In 127 preterm infants delivered by 127 GBS-positive pregnant women, the preterm infant group with a gestational age between 34 and 37 weeks had a significantly lower GBS positive rate and a significantly higher level of anti-GBS capsular polysaccharide antibody compared with the preterm infant group with a gestational age of less than 34 weeks (P=0.013 and 0.001 respectively). A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that premature rupture of membranes time >18 hours and chorioamnionitis were independent risk factors for GBS colonization in preterm infants (OR=6.556 and 6.160 respectively; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS GBS positive rate and anti-GBS capsular polysaccharide antibody level in preterm infants are correlated with gestational age. premature rupture of membranes time >18 hours and chorioamnionitis may increase the risk of GBS colonization in preterm infants.
Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious ; Prospective Studies ; Streptococcal Infections ; Streptococcus agalactiae

Streptococcus dysgalactiae has two main subspecies: S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE) and S. dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae (SDSD). SDSE often colonizes and causes infections in humans; however, SDSD is an animal pathogen which often causes pyogenic infection in domestic animals. We present a case of meningitis with SDSD and herpes simplex virus in a 22-day-old newborn baby who had no exposure to animals.
Animals ; Animals, Domestic ; Bacteria ; Colon ; Herpes Simplex ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Meningitis ; Simplexvirus ; Streptococcal Infections ; Streptococcus

PURPOSE: In Kawasaki disease (KD) patients, coronary artery complications, incomplete and refractory types occur more frequently in patients with streptococcal or other bacterial/viral infections. Recently, we observed a higher incidence of coronary lesions in KD patients with high anti-streptolysin O (ASO) titer. Therefore, we hypothesized that KD patients diagnosed with concurrent streptococcal infection have poor prognoses, with respect to treatment response and development of coronary artery lesions. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed in 723 patients with KD who were admitted to 2 major hospitals between June 2010 and September 2017. RESULTS: Among 723 patients with KD, 11 initially showed an elevated ASO titer (>320 IU/mL) or elevated follow-up ASO titer after treatment. Of these patients, 5 showed no response to the first intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, 3 had abnormalities of the coronary arteries. This is a significantly higher proportion of patients with a high ASO titer (n=3, 27.3%) than those with a normal ASO titer (n=53 [7.4%], P=0.047). A severe clinical course was seen in 81.8% of patients in the high ASO group versus 14.5% of patients in the normal ASO group. CONCLUSION: It is not certain whether acute streptococcal infection may cause KD, but this study revealed that KD with high ASO titers showed higher rates of severe clinical course. It may be helpful to analyze concurrent streptococcal infection in patients with a severe clinical course.
Antistreptolysin ; Coronary Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Incidence ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Streptococcal Infections