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Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a gram-positive bacterium that grows in pairs or chains and causes complete, or β-hemolysis when cultured on sheep blood agar. GAS cause a broad spectrum of disease, from primary upper respiratory tract and skin infections to secondary complications such as acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and glomerulonephritis, as well as severe invasive illness, including toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and necrotizing fasciitis, which may involve almost every organ system. Despite the beneficial effects of antibiotics, clinicians continue to encounter GAS disease frequently in practice.
GAS pharyngitis, the most common GAS infection, occurs most often in school-age children and accounts for 15% to 30% of all cases of pharyngitis in this age group, with the peak incidence seen during winter and early spring. Transmission results from contact with infected respiratory tract secretions and is facilitated by close contact in...
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