Group A streptococcal meningitis: emm type distribution and theoretical vaccine coverage in children.

As group A Streptococcus (GAS) meningitis is seldom reported in children, emm-type distribution data are scare. We report eight cases of GAS meningitis in Belgium (2008-2013) and compare molecular characteristics of our strains with a further 55 cases previously reported with their corresponding emm-types. emm1 type was the most frequent (24%) followed by emm6 (11%), emm12 (11%) and emm3 (6%).

Streptococcus pyogenes strains in Sao Paulo, Brazil: molecular characterization as a basis for StreptInCor coverage capacity analysis.

Background: Several human diseases are caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, ranging from common infections to autoimmunity. Characterization of the most prevalent strains worldwide is a useful tool for evaluating the coverage capacity of vaccines under development. In this study, a collection of S.

Post-infectious group A streptococcal autoimmune syndromes and the heart.

There is a pressing need to reduce the high global disease burden of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and its harbinger, acute rheumatic fever (ARF). ARF is a classical example of an autoimmune syndrome and is of particular immunological interest because it follows a known antecedent infection with group A streptococcus (GAS). However, the poorly understood immunopathology of these post-infectious diseases means that, compared to much progress in other immune-mediated diseases, we still lack useful biomarkers, new therapies or an effective vaccine in ARF and RHD.

Severe group A streptococcal infections in a paediatric intensive care unit.

Aim: To describe the clinical presentation, management and outcomes for children with invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) infection in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Methods: We reviewed the clinical and laboratory records of patients admitted to a PICU in Melbourne with invasive GAS infection from April 2010 to April 2013. Outcomes recorded included survival, organ failure, need for extracorporeal support, renal replacement therapy and prolonged neuromuscular weakness.

Molecular markers for the study of streptococcal epidemiology.

Diseases caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A streptococcus, GAS) range from superficial infections such as pharyngitis and impetigo to potentially fatal rheumatic heart disease and invasive disease. Studies spanning emm-typing surveillance to population genomics are providing new insights into the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and biology of this organism. Such studies have demonstrated the differences that exist in the epidemiology of streptococcal disease between developing and developed nations.

Group A streptococcus meningitis in children.

Objective: To characterize the epidemiologic burden and the molecular determinants of group A streptococcal (GAS) meningitis among the pediatric population of the state of Paraná, Brazil.

Methods: Clinical and epidemiologic data were gathered by a compulsory notification system during the period 2003 to 2011. Bacterial identification, antibiotic resistance profile, emm-typing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing and virulence profile were analyzed by a central reference laboratory.

Group a streptococcus antibiotic resistance in southern Brazil: a 17-year surveillance study.

Background: Scarce data are available about the antimicrobial resistance of Group A Streptococcus in South America.

Methods: This study evaluated the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of 1,112 isolates of Group A Streptococcus during the period from 1993 to 2009 in Curitiba city, Brazil. Macrolide-resistant isolates were characterized by emm typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Polyclonal dissemination of tetracycline resistance among Streptococcus pyogenes paediatric isolates from Brazil.

Introduction: Scarce data are available on Group A Streptococcus (GAS) antibiotic resistance in South America.

Methodology: The antibiotic susceptibility patterns of GAS recovered from symptomatic children living in the central part of Brazil during a prospective epidemiological study were analyzed.

Results: No isolates were resistant to penicillin or macrolides.

Group A Streptococcus virulence and host factors in two toddlers with rheumatic fever following toxic shock syndrome.

Background: Rheumatic fever (RF) classically occurs after group A Streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis in children aged over 5 years in developing countries. The present report describes the bacterial and host determinants in non-related toddlers who developed RF diagnostic criteria after toxic shock syndrome (TSS).

Methods And Results: A 13-month-old boy and a 14-month-old girl presented GAS TSS.

Emerging fluoroquinolone-non-susceptible group A streptococci in two different paediatric populations.

Clonal emergence of group A streptococci (GAS) with reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones (FQs) has been increasingly reported. Non-susceptibility is associated with various point mutations in the target-encoding genes and has only been described in a few emm types. We used a well-characterised GAS clinical paediatric collection from Brussels (Belgium) and Brasília (Brazil) to analyse the molecular basis of FQ non-susceptibility.

Differences between Belgian and Brazilian group A Streptococcus epidemiologic landscape.

Background: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) clinical and molecular epidemiology varies with location and time. These differences are not or are poorly understood.

Methods And Findings: We prospectively studied the epidemiology of GAS infections among children in outpatient hospital clinics in Brussels (Belgium) and Brasília (Brazil).

Pharyngitis in low-resources settings: a pragmatic clinical approach to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.

Objective: Existing scoring systems for the diagnosis of group A streptococcus pharyngitis are insensitive or inapplicable in low-resources settings. Bacterial cultures and rapid tests can allow for antibiotic prescription abstention in high-income regions. These techniques are not feasible in many low-resources settings, and antibiotics often are prescribed for any pharyngitis episode.