Invasive Strep Infections Have Nearly Doubled in the US in Recent Years, CDC Says
Strep is on the rise in the US. While invasive group A strep infections once remained at a stable rate for 17 years, that’s no longer the case. According to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the number of invasive group A strep infections more than doubled between 2013 and 2022.
The bacteria itself is expanding and becoming more diverse, exploiting new opportunities for infection and increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics used to treat strep infections, according to the study.
There are about 300 cases of invasive GAS infection reported each year in Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Incidence of invasive group A Streptococcus infections more than doubled in 10 states over a 9-year period ending in 2022. The relative increase over this time was greatest among adults ages 18 to 64 years. The number of cases increased among people experiencing homelessness and those with injection drug use.
