We describe the case of a 48-year-old man with an acute nephritis and respiratory failure. Clinical history, streptococcal antibody titres and renal biopsy led to a diagnosis of post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. Respiratory investigations excluded pulmonary oedema and infection. We hypothesize that this man had a co-existing post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis and an immune-mediated pneu...

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of group A streptococcal infection and to evaluate the predictive value of clinical findings and rapid streptococcal antigen detection testing in patients presenting with a sore throat or suspected clinically to have acute pharyngitis. DESIGN Prospective observational study. SETTING Accident and emergency department of a public hospital, Hong Kong. P...

A hemagglutination method employing tanned human O erythrocytes sensitized with purified Group A streptococcal polysaccharide has been developed to measure A polysaccharide antibody in antistreptococcal rabbit and human sera. The reaction of sensitized RBC with known Group A streptococcal rabbit antisera, inhibition of hemagglutination with A polysaccharide, and abolition of hemagglutination an...

4. Farley MM, Harvey RC, Stull T, et al. A population-based assessment of are rare in adults, routine screening for GBS, as done before delivinvasive disease due to group B streptococcus in nonpregnant adults. ery to prevent GBS infection in neonates, is not economically N Engl J Med 1993;328:1807–11. feasible. 5. Sarmiento R, Wilson FM, Khatib R. Group B streptococcal meningitis in adults: cas...

BACKGROUND The spectrum of post-streptococcal brain disorders includes chorea, tics, and dystonia. The proposed mediators of disease are anti-basal ganglia (neuronal) antibodies (ABGA). AIM To evaluate ABGA as a potential diagnostic marker in a cohort of UK post-streptococcal movement disorders. METHODS Forty UK children presenting with movement disorders associated with streptococcal infec...

BACKGROUND Some clinicians have questioned the accuracy of rapid diagnosis of group A streptococcal pharyngitis by commercial immunochemical antigen test kits in the setting of recent streptococcal pharyngitis, believing that the false-positive rate was increased because of presumed antigen persistence. METHODS We studied 443 patients--211 cases--who had clinical pharyngitis diagnosed as grou...

An impressive change in the epidemiology and severity of invasive group A streptococcal infections occurred in the 1980s, and the incidence of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome cases continues to rise. The reason for the resurgence of severe invasive cases remains a mystery-has there been a change in the pathogen or in host protective immunity? To address these questions, we have studied 33 pa...

Much evidence supports the concept that immunity to Group A streptococcal infection is type-specific; that is, that recovery from infection with one type of Group A streptococcus results in immunity to that type only. The M protein antigen in Group A streptococcal cell walls determines the serologic type specificity of various strains and is an important factor associated with strain virulence....

Streptococcal pathogens cause a wide array of clinical syndromes in humans, including invasive systemic infections resulting in high mortality rates. Many of these pathogens are human specific, and therefore difficult to analyze in vivo using typical animal models, as these models rarely replicate what is observed in human infections. This unit describes the use of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) a...