Genomic sequencing of a national emm66 group A streptococci (GAS) outbreak among people who inject drugs and the homeless community in England and Wales, January 2016-May 2017

Streptococcus pyogenes or group A streptococcus (GAS) can cause several mild to life-threatening infections. Age, intravenous drug use, problematic alcohol use, immunosuppression and presence of chronic disease (diabetes mellitus, cancer, or HIV) are the main risk factors for invasive disease among adults.1 GAS infections are defined as invasive (iGAS) based on isolation of the pathogen from blood or other sterile sites. Globally, the occurrence of iGAS has increased during the last decade with an estimate incidence from 2 to 4 per 100,000 in developed countries.

Source: Journal of Infection - August 12, 2019 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Laura Bubba, Nick Bundle, Georgia Kapatai, Roger Daniel, Sooria Balasegaram, Charlotte Anderson, Vicki Chalker, Theresa Lamagni, Colin Brown, Derren Ready, Androulla Efstratiou, Juliana Coelho Source Type: research