The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring an increase in invasive group A Streptococcus infections in children.
"Group A streptococcal disease is a group of conditions caused by a bacteria called 'group A strep,'" says Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious diseases physician with the Mayo Clinic Children's Center. "The one that people are probably most familiar with is strep throat. Strep throat is a relatively common infection, especially in children of school age — between ages 5 and 15. It's very unusual in children under 3 years of age."
Rarely, group A strep can become invasive and spread to other parts of the body, like the blood or the brain, and cause serious, life-threatening illness.
