Title
Outbreak of Group A beta hemolytic Streptococcus pharyngitis in a Peruvian military facility, April 2012.
Date Issued
01 January 2013
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Reaves E.
Loayza L.
Bernal M.
Soto G.
Hawksworth A.
Kasper M.
Tilley D.
De Mattos C.
Brown J.
Bausch D.
Departamento de Infecciones Emergentes
Departamento de Infecciones Emergentes
Departamento de Infecciones Emergentes
Abstract
Group A Streptococcus (GAS), or Streptococcus pyogenes, is a common cause of acute pharyngitis as well as other diseases. Closed populations such as those living on military bases, nursing homes, and prisons are particularly vulnerable to GAS outbreaks due to crowding that facilitates person-to-person transmission. This report details a large outbreak of GAS pharyngitis at a Peruvian military training facility near Lima, Peru, in April 2012. Initial findings showed 145 cases. However, as the investigation continued it was revealed that some trainees may have concealed their illness to avoid real or perceived negative consequences of seeking medical care. A subsequent anonymous survey of all trainees revealed at least 383 cases of pharyngitis among the facility's 1,549 trainees and an attack rate of 34 percent among the 1,137 respondents. The epidemic curve revealed a pattern consistent with routine person-to-person transmission, although a point-source initiating event could not be excluded. Laboratory results showed GAS emm type 80.1 to be the culprit pathogen, an organism not commonly implicated in outbreaks of GAS in the Americas. Barious unique and illustrative features of outbreak investigation in military facilities and populations are discussed.
Start page
14
End page
17
Volume
20
Issue
6
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Epidemiología
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84895591821
PubMed ID
Source
MSMR
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus