Canada: 10 dead after Group A strep outbreak sickens 75 in Thunder Bay

[Shiloh]

Source: http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i8dIdL6yw7XLKYsqnXjBNoCDWgYw

10 dead after Group A strep outbreak sickens 75 in Thunder Bay


THUNDER BAY, Ont. ? An outbreak of Group A streptococcal infection has killed 10 people in the Thunder Bay area but health officials say the risk to the general public is still low.

The region's health unit said Wednesday that 75 cases have been reported since August 2007, including the 10 people who had died. One-third of all those infected are seriously ill.

Six reported cases a year and one fatality is considered normal, the health unit said.

There was discussion to alert the public in February, however, officials decided against it, said Director of Health Protection Ken Allan.

Instead they decided it would be better to deal with each individual case on hand.

Epidemiologist Lee Sieswerda said the deaths couldn't have been prevented.

"(The public) should be a little bit alarmed," said Sieswerda.

"I wouldn't want to say panic. That's why I keep saying that the overall risk to the general public is still low. I'm not worried about it myself."

The people highest at risk are those in close contact with group A cases, he said.

People in close contact with those infected should contact their physician to receive preventive antibiotics.

Group A streptococci are bacteria commonly found in the throat and on the skin.

The infection is caused by the same bacteria responsible for strep throat.

In rare cases the bacteria can invade the body and cause a deep, serious infection, the health unit said.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Canada: 10 dead after Group A strep outbreak sickens 75 in Thunder Bay

Source: http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gGyu7iDNZDyI2LFmHIKVFZ4BIBdw
Deadly strep outbreak in northern Ont. may spread as winter approaches: expert

1 hour ago

TORONTO ? An outbreak of streptococcal infections that has killed 10 people in northern Ontario could possibly spread across the province and even hit populations further east, a prominent microbiologist said Thursday.

Dr. Donald Low, chief microbiologist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, said he wouldn't be surprised if the infection migrated by the end of October or November.

"We've seen it in Western Canada, we're seeing it move east," Low said.

"There's a lot of movement of individuals from city to city, so there may well be an opportunity for this thing to hitchhike along with somebody and be introduced into a new community of individuals that are susceptible.

"It's speculation, but it's something that we're going to look out for."

On Wednesday, Thunder Bay, Ont.'s health unit announced an outbreak there which has seen 10 die and 75 others infected in the past year.

Health officials there said the overall risk to the public was low, noting that "marginalized people have been affected more than most." They said efforts are being directed toward street outreach programs.

About half of the Group A streptococcal cases in the region belong to a strain that was unknown in the province until summer 2007.

Low says that strain, called M59, spiked in Alberta and British Columbia in spring 2007 and was likely carried east.

The M59 strain is invasive, and can cause severe illness and death.

"People don't really have a natural immunity to it. It's like a new bug, almost like a new influenza virus infection," Low said.

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Canada: 10 dead after Group A strep outbreak sickens 75 in Thunder Bay

Rare strain of strep begins to move east

LISA PRIEST
With a report from Karen Howlett

October 10, 2008

A menacing, rare type of invasive Group A streptococcus that was the subject of an outbreak in Thunder Bay has infected more than 300 Canadians over the past two years.

"This is a very, very uncommon emm type in Canada, but also in the world," Gregory Tyrrell, director of the Edmonton-based National Centre for Streptococcus, said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Since fall of 2006, there have been 305 cases of the emm59 strain of invasive Group A streptococcus in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Thunder Bay, Dr. Tyrrell said. No figures were available on how many of those infected patients have died.

He said there is a good chance this rare strain may continue moving east.

Donald Low, medical director of Ontario's public health laboratories, described the rare strain as being a "different animal" - one that no one has much experience with. "Some of these strains have virulence factors, allowing them to hijack your immune system and cause this overwhelming type of infection," Dr. Low said.

Indeed, the emm59 strain - not seen in Canada for about four decades - can cause a minor sore throat or, more rarely, kill its victims.

One who died from it this year was Daniel MacMaster, former lead singer of the British hard-rock band Bonham. The 39-year-old, who was working as a long-haul trucker, went to the emergency department of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre in March with flu-like respiratory symptoms and was sent home with a puffer, said his former partner, Tina McCallum. For two nights, he held her hand all night, with complaints of feeling very achy.

Five days after that initial emergency-room visit, he returned to the same hospital with a blue complexion. His blood pressure was low and his organs were shutting down.

"He was a healthy guy," said Ms. McCallum, an aesthetician. "He was funny, hilarious; he was a great writing talent."

The couple had two children, Cale, 8, and Aryanna, 6.

Now, Ms. McCallum wonders why the Thunder Bay District Health Unit didn't make the public aware of the outbreak until two days ago. So far, 75 people have been infected over the past year in Thunder Bay with invasive Group A streptococcus, including 10 who have died.

"I'm not trying to point fingers and fight," Ms. McCallum said yesterday. "They kind of knew about it, so I have even more questions. It's not making sense to me."

It wasn't making much sense to Ontario's political opposition, either. Yesterday, it criticized the Liberal government for not informing the public sooner about the outbreak. While health officials must report invasive Group A streptococcus provincially and federally, those governments are not compelled to report it publicly.

While deputy premier George Smitherman, a former health minister, defended the actions of the ministry, he also suggested Health Minister David Caplan might want to explore whether public reporting of invasive Group A streptococcus should be required.

"I am very, very certain that the ministry would want to take a look at whether public reporting in this instance is something that would have been beneficial," Mr. Smitherman told reporters yesterday.

Lee Sieswerda, epidemiologist for the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and lead investigator for the outbreak, said the 10 deaths from invasive Group A strep occurred from August, 2007, to August, 2008, with ages ranging from 39 to 77. Seven of those who died were men.

The public was not immediately told of the outbreak, Mr. Sieswerda said, because the risk to the general public was thought to be very low.

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