Doctors should be on the lookout for a particular kind of invasive strep infection in children that can result in so-called “flesh-eating” disease and organ failure, according to health officials.
Shortly before Christmas, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory on the recent increase in pediatric invasive Group A streptococcal infections, otherwise known as iGAS.
It’s too early to know for certain whether the increase in such infections is what would be typical for a pre-pandemic season. But iGAS cases in children this season are above similar periods seen in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. In any case, the number of iGAS infections nationally has been relatively low.
