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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

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• Children
• Teenagers
• Women
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Strep is short for Streptococcus, a type of bacteria. There are several types. Two of them cause most of the strep infections in people: group A and group B.

Group A strep causes:

• Strep throat - a sore, red throat. Your tonsils may be swollen and have white spots on them.
• Scarlet fever - an illness that follows strep throat. It causes a red rash on the body.
• Impetigo - a skin infection
• Toxic shock syndrome
• Cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease)

Group B strep can cause blood infections, pneumonia and meningitis in newborns. A screening test during pregnancy can tell if you have it. If you do, intravenous (IV) antibiotics during labor can save your baby's life. Adults can also get group B strep infections, especially if they are 65 or older or already have health problems. Strep B can cause urinary tract infections, blood infections, skin infections and pneumonia in adults.

Antibiotics are used to treat strep infections.

Start Here

• Group A Streptococcal Infections (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
• Strep Throat (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Rapid Strep Test (American Academy of Family Physicians)
• Strep A Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Strep B Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Strep Test: Rapid (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Strep Test: Throat Culture (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Preventing Group B Strep Disease in Newborns (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• About Scarlet Fever (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Glomerulonephritis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Glomerulonephritis (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Sydenham Chorea (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Specifics

• About Necrotizing Fasciitis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• About Strep Throat (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Strep Throat (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Toxic Shock Syndrome (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Group B Strep Surveillance and Trends (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Rheumatic Fever (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Streptococcal Infections (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Insights into the role of Streptococcus oralis as an opportunistic pathogen...
• Article: Streptococcus suis infective endocarditis in patients with Streptococcus suis bacteremia: a...
• Article: Centor scores associated poorly with rapid antigen test findings in children...
• Streptococcal Infections -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Children

• Group A Strep Infections (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) Questions and Answers (National Institute of Mental Health) Also in Spanish
• Recurring Strep Throat: When Is Tonsillectomy Useful? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Scarlet Fever (VisualDX)
• Scarlet Fever (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Scoop on Strep Throat (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Sepsis (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Strep Throat (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Streptococcal Infections: Not A or B (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• What about My Child and Rheumatic Fever? (American Heart Association) - PDF

Teenagers

• Strep Throat (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Toxic Shock Syndrome (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Women

• Group B Strep Infection (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Ecthyma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Erysipelas (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Group B streptococcal septicemia of the newborn (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Group B streptococcus - pregnancy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Perianal streptococcal cellulitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Rheumatic fever (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Scarlet fever (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Strep throat (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Streptococcal screen (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Throat swab culture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Toxic shock syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish