After 2 tragic deaths in Cincinnati area, how dangerous is a strep infection?
Two deaths of children have been attributed, in part, to strep infections. But how dangerous is the bacteria we commonly associate with sore throats?
After 2 tragic deaths in Cincinnati area, how dangerous is a strep infection? Two deaths of children have been attributed, in part, to strep infections. But how dangerous is the bacteria we commonly associate with sore throats? Check out this story on cincinnati.com: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/04/26/how-dangerous-strep-infection/3587296002/
Cameron Knight, Cincinnati Enquirer Published 12:34 p.m. ET April 26, 2019 | Updated 2:25 p.m. ET April 26, 2019
Two sudden deaths of children in the Greater Cincinnati area have been attributed, at least in part, to strep infections.
But how dangerous is the bacteria we commonly associate with sore throats?
"Most of the time, it just hangs out there and doesn't cause any problems," said Dr. Robert Frenck, a professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati in the infectious disease division.
He said that a recent study tested a group of children every three months and found 20 to 30 percent of kids will have strep in their throats at any given time.
'The silent killer'
Compared to how often kids test positive for group A streptococcus, as it is known, the bacteria only occasionally causes throat infections.
Lilliana Schalck (Photo: Provided/Allen Ramsey)
But it can also very rarely cause more serious problems like those seen in Fort Thomas middle school cheerleader Lillian Schalck and Mason fourth-grader Sable Gibson.
Lillian died suddenly in February at a cheerleading competition in Columbus. Her family said Thursday that the coroner determined an underlying strep infection turned into sepsis, an infection of the blood.
Her family noticed she was not feeling well and was experiencing numbness in her hands. They rushed her to the hospital where she died just hours later.
That same week in February, Sable was diagnosed with the flu and strep on a Tuesday morning and died from cardiac arrest that afternoon.
Sable Gibson was 10 years old when she died from complications stemming from the flu and step. (Photo: Courtesy of The Gibson Family)
Dr. Riham Alwan at the Christ Hospital says there's a reason they call strep leading to sepsis "the silent killer."
"It moves very, very, very, very fast. This used to be something nobody knew about," Alwan said .
According to the National Institute of Health, severe sepsis strikes more than 1 million Americans every year.
Serious strep situations remain rare
Despite two cases in a short period of time, Frenck said serious strep situations remain rare.
Typically, he said Children's Hospital Medical Center will only see serious cases once every year or two. This is a hospital that performs about a million outpatient visits a year.
Frenck said researchers are working hard to understand what prompts the bacteria to change from something harmless to something that makes you sick, but have not yet figured it out.
Strep can also cause other rare complications
Jim Henson of "Muppets" fame died when a strep caused pneumonia. It is also the bacteria behind scarlet fever.
The germ can also occasionally flare up into skin infection that has been dubbed "flesh-eating bacteria," though it doesn't actually eat skin cells, it just kills them.
Frenck said parents should not panic about strep or even strep throat infections. He said if children seem sick, take them to the doctor just as you normally would.
"It's very, very common to have strep in your throat," he said. "It's very, very rare to have serious complications."
Related: Mason fourth-grader dies after flu, strep diagnosis
More: Community rallies behind family of Mason fourth-grader who died after flu, strep diagnosis
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