Strep

A Facebook post makes false claims about strep A cases in the UK—the infection is not linked to the nasal flu vaccine, and current fatality rates are not ...

We have [covered this study before](/health/strep-a-nasal-flu-vaccine-study/) in relation to [claims that the nasal flu vaccine causes strep A infections](/health/strep-a-flu-vaccine-children/), and it is frequently being used to support such claims on social media. There is no evidence that this is the case, and in fact, a recent UKHSA [pre-print article](https://khub.net/documents/135939561/174090236/Impact+of+the+paediatric+LAIV+programme+on+Group+A+Streptococcus+infections.pdf/99908afc-27ef-526e-0a9a-ab802c1bce14?t=1671204658432) showed there were fewer strep A infections in areas where more children received the nasal flu vaccine, and no difference in scarlet fever or iGAS numbers. [study in mBio](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24549845/), which looked at how giving mice the nasal flu vaccine affected the bacteria found in their airways. In 2017/18, during the last comparable strep A season, the total death toll for all ages [was 355](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-update-on-scarlet-fever-and-invasive-group-a-strep-1#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20cases%20continue,deaths%20in%20children%20under%2018.). [in the UK](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225360/Children_s_flu_letter_2013.pdf) for nine years, starting with earlier ages in 2013 and gradually rolled out to older school children. [identified and described in the 1870s](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK333430/#:~:text=Discovery%20of%20Streptococci,1874%3B%20Billroth%2C%201877).), with group A strep not far behind. The [UKHSA](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-update-on-scarlet-fever-and-invasive-group-a-strep-1) says: “Currently, there is no evidence that a new strain of GAS is circulating or any increase in antibiotic resistance” For example, historic data from the US state of Massachusetts shows a peak mortality rate from the disease of [173 per 100,000 people](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4582485#metadata_info_tab_contents) was reached in 1857. The authors found increased numbers of these bacteria in the upper respiratory tracts of the mice, but did not find any evidence of an increased risk of severe infection or death resulting from this. [group A streptococcus](https://www.nth.nhs.uk/content/uploads/2017/09/IPC473.1-Group-A-Streptococcal-Infection-22.08.17.pdf), is a bacteria sometimes found in the throat or on the skin, often carried harmlessly. But these vaccines are not new, and there is no evidence they are causing strep A infections or deaths. From September 2017 to September 2018 for example, the last high season for strep A infections,