As the Strep A outbreak spreads throughout the US, one of Missouri’s largest children’s hospitals is experiencing an influx of young patients with peculiar symptoms.
Seven kids have presented to Children’s Mercy Kansas City Hospital in recent weeks with symptoms like a stuck eye, tumors behind the ear, and difficulty swallowing, which resulted in drooling.\
US Strep A Cases
The cases originally baffled doctors, but subsequent testing revealed that each infant had Strep A. Hospitalizations due to the often minor bacterial illness are on the rise in the US, UK, and Europe.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledged earlier this week that pandemic orders such as lockdowns, mask bans, and school closures may have contributed to this year’s higher severity of Strep A.e increase in flu and RSV incidence may have been caused by pandemic preventative measures including masks and school closings.
These could then lead to an increase in bacterial infections like Strep A, which frequently occur after a viral infection when the immune system is weak.
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Increase in Cases Still Uncertain
The CDC estimates that 14,000 to 25,000 Americans contract the disease each year, and 1,500 to 2,300 of them pass afterward. The elderly make up a significant portion of those who pass away. Since the flu and RSV are starting to spread, cases, which typically do not appear until mid-winter, are striking particularly hard this year.
The CDC does not track the infection in the same manner that it tracks viral infections like the flu, RSV, and COVID-19, so it is unclear what the real-time infection and mortality rates in the country are.
The EPA announced last week that it was looking into Strep A after learning about these increases from local doctors. An agency representative said on Thursday that despite anecdotal claims to the contrary, it was unclear whether the US was indeed seeing more Strep A cases than usual.
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