4 dead this year as outbreak of new strep bacteria hits Alaska
Author: Laurel Andrews Updated: 3 hours ago Published 20 hours ago
Update 11 a.m. Tuesday: The Alaska section of epidemiology reported Tuesday morning that an additional death in Fairbanks was not originally included in its data. The story has been updated to reflect four deaths due to group A strep infection, instead of three, as previously reported.
Original story:
A new strain of group A Streptococcus bacteria first identified in Fairbanks in early 2016 has caused an outbreak in Anchorage, mainly among the homeless population, a state health department official said Monday afternoon.
At least 28 people in Fairbanks and Anchorage have been hospitalized since the bacteria were identified, and four have died due to different invasive diseases, said Joe McLaughlin, state epidemiologist and chief of the Alaska section of epidemiology with the Department of Health and Social Services.
"This outbreak is a new strain that we've never seen before. So having this increased number of cases of group A strep is not atypical," McLaughlin said.
...
Author: Laurel Andrews Updated: 3 hours ago Published 20 hours ago
Update 11 a.m. Tuesday: The Alaska section of epidemiology reported Tuesday morning that an additional death in Fairbanks was not originally included in its data. The story has been updated to reflect four deaths due to group A strep infection, instead of three, as previously reported.
Original story:
A new strain of group A Streptococcus bacteria first identified in Fairbanks in early 2016 has caused an outbreak in Anchorage, mainly among the homeless population, a state health department official said Monday afternoon.
At least 28 people in Fairbanks and Anchorage have been hospitalized since the bacteria were identified, and four have died due to different invasive diseases, said Joe McLaughlin, state epidemiologist and chief of the Alaska section of epidemiology with the Department of Health and Social Services.
"This outbreak is a new strain that we've never seen before. So having this increased number of cases of group A strep is not atypical," McLaughlin said.
...
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