Strep throat bug also causes flesh-eating disease, but why is a 'random game': Montreal doctor
An infectious disease physician says that when someone is infected with group A streptococcus bacteria, it's "kind of a random game" what comes next.
Dr. Donald Vinh says it could turn into the type of illness known as strep throat.
But in rare cases, it could result in the rare flesh-eating disease necrotizing fasciitis that recently claimed the leg of a firefighter from Vancouver.
Vinh, with the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), says necrotizing fasciitis is among the "scariest" infectious diseases he's ever seen, one of the "classic bugs" that every medical professional is taught to watch for because it can kill within hours.
The tissue-killing infection can spread quickly, he says, even if the patient receives antibiotics or surgical treatment to remove the dead tissue or limb.
"Despite optimal therapy, the mortality rate for this beast is alarmingly high," he said.
Vinh says people can carry the "strep A" bacteria on their skin or in their nose and throat without getting sick, or they may develop strep throat.
For others, the bacteria can lead to "invasive" infections, including necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, he says.
Vinh says it's not clear why there is such wide variability.
"Somewhere along the way from exposure to, in a small proportion of people, severe disease, there's something that occurs that we don't understand," he said.
The person has to have picked up strep A somewhere, he adds.
"We don't know whether it gets on your skin or in your airways — before you get these severe diseases like necrotizing fasciitis," he notes. "But that's the big black box."
The infection can start in a minor cut or scrape or following a chickenpox infection, Vinh said.
Sometimes, there is no obvious wound or injury to the skin.
That was the case for Christopher Won, an assistant fire chief with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services who is recovering in a Hong Kong hospital after the infection forced the amputation of one of his legs above the knee on Feb. 15.
Won's partner, Marie Hui, says the family can't recall Won having any wounds or insect bites when he began feeling the symptoms during a family vacation.
Hui says Won is "lucky to be alive, and very grateful for another day," as the couple and their two children wait for him to be cleared to fly home to Vancouver.
Vinh says one of the earliest signs of necrotizing fasciitis is a limb that is painful to a degree that's disproportionately worse than any visual signs, such as redness.
In that way, the fast-moving infection can be "deceptively visually benign," he said.
Sometimes, in the absence of any alarming visual cues, people mistake the pain for a muscle strain and delay seeking medical attention until it's too late, he adds.
There's no vaccine against "group A strep," and infections caused by the bacteria are rising in Canada and around the world, Vinh said.
A course of penicillin is usually enough to knock down the more superficial skin or strep throat infections.
Vinh is encouraging anyone sick with strep throat to seek medical attention for antibiotics to treat the infection and decrease the risk of transmission.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6903244.1716897063!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING Scotiabank suffers direct deposit outage on pay day
Scotiabank has acknowledged technical difficulties affecting direct deposits as clients report missed payments Friday morning. On Friday morning, the bank's client services phone line was playing an automated message assuring customers that work was underway to rectify the outage.
Canada Soccer head investigating 'systemic ethical shortcoming' amid spying scandal
Canada Soccer chief executive officer Kevin Blue said he was investigating a potential 'systemic ethical shortcoming' within the program but has not considered pulling the women's soccer team from the Paris Olympics due to a drone spying scandal.
Suspected train sabotage, bad weather dampen spirits ahead of Paris opening ceremony
The Paris Olympics are getting off to a rough start, with suspected acts of sabotage targeting France's flagship high-speed rail network.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.
At least 4 buildings burned at Jasper Park Lodge, others damaged: Fairmont memo
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge said Thursday afternoon most of its structures are "standing and intact," including its iconic main lodge.
'She led it the whole way': 18-year-old B.C. woman leads hikers to safety in Jasper National Park
As fire threatened people in Jasper National Park, Colleen Knull sprung into action.
'Catastrophic' situation 'cannot continue': Open letter from Trudeau, other PMs calling for Gaza ceasefire
Prime ministers of Canada, New Zealand and Australia released a letter renewing calls for an “urgent ceasefire” in Gaza on Friday morning.
Arson attacks cause chaos before start of Olympics in Paris, thwarting athletes' travel
Arsonists attacked the French high-speed rail network early Friday, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe for some 800,000 people, including Olympic athletes heading to the grand opening ceremony of the Games in the evening.
Saskatchewan First Nation lifts 17-year long water advisory
After 17 years, residents of Star Blanket Cree Nation can breathe a sigh of relief when turning on their taps.