Beta hemolytic strep

[Debbie1]

In our quest to rid our house of strep, my husband and I had throat cultures and titers run. Dh's titers came back high and his internist sent him to an ID specialist. The ID recultured his throat and found he was positive for beta hemolytic (sp?) strep. The doctor is a bit of a PANDAS skeptic, but is treating him anyway because of our kids' history.

 

Is beta hemolytic strep something that is routinely cultured with throat cultures? Has it been implicated in PANDAS or is that just Group A strep?

[dut]

Hello

 

Group A strep is beat hemolytic but there are other ones that are beat hemolytic as well.... I copied this from wikipedia

 

Beta-hemolytic streptococci

Group A

S. pyogenes, also known as Group A Streptococcus (GAS), is the causative agent in Group A streptococcal infections, including streptococcal pharyngitis ("strep throat"), acute rheumatic fever, scarlet fever, acute glomerulonephritis and necrotizing fasciitis. If strep throat is not treated, it can develop into rheumatic fever, a disease that affects the joints and heart valves. Other Streptococcus species may also possess the Group A antigen, but human infections by non-S. pyogenes GAS strains (some S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis and S. anginosus Group strains) appear to be uncommon.

 

Group A Strep infection is generally diagnosed with a Rapid Strep Test or by culture.

 

Group B

S. agalactiae, or GBS, causes pneumonia and meningitis in neonates and the elderly, with occasional systemic bacteremia. They can also colonize the intestines and the female reproductive tract, increasing the risk for premature rupture of membranes and transmission to the infant. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control recommend all pregnant women between 35 and 37 weeks gestation should be tested for GBS. Women who test positive should be given prophylactic antibiotics during labor, which will usually prevent transmission to the infant.[5] In the UK, clinicians have been slow to implement the same standards as the US, Australia and Canada. In the UK, only 1% of maternity units test for the presence of Group B Strep.[6] Although The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists issued risk-based guidelines in 2003 (due for review 2006), the implementation of these guidelines has been patchy. Some groups feel that as a result over 75 infants in the UK die each year of GBS related disease and another 600 or so suffer serious infection, most of which could be prevented [7] however this is yet to be substantiated by randomized controlled trial in the UK setting and, given the evidence for the efficacy of testing and treating from other countries, it may be that the large-scale trial necessary would receive neither funding nor ethics approval.[8]

 

Group C

Includes S. equi, which causes strangles in horses,[9] and S. zooepidemicus - a subspecies of S. equi - which causes infections in several species of mammals including cattle and horses. This can also cause death in chickens and moose.

 

Group D (enterococci) *variable in hemolysis

Many former Group D Streptococci have been reclassified and placed in the genus Enterococcus (including S. faecalis, S. faecium, S. durans, and S. avium).[10] For example, Streptococcus faecalis is now Enterococcus faecalis.

 

The remaining non-enterococcal Group D strains include Streptococcus bovis and Streptococcus equinus.

 

Group G Streptococci

These streptococci are usually but not exclusively beta hemolytic. Streptococcus canis is an example of a GGS which is typically found on animals but can cause infection in humans

 

 

When our dd had her 1st episode she came back positive for beta hemolytic strep NOT group A. So it was one of the above but not Group A. We have since been told that labs can make mistakes as the different groupd can look similar on the plates on which they grow the bacteria.

 

Hope this helps....

[EAMom]

In our quest to rid our house of strep, my husband and I had throat cultures and titers run. Dh's titers came back high and his internist sent him to an ID specialist. The ID recultured his throat and found he was positive for beta hemolytic (sp?) strep. The doctor is a bit of a PANDAS skeptic, but is treating him anyway because of our kids' history.

 

Is beta hemolytic strep something that is routinely cultured with throat cultures? Has it been implicated in PANDAS or is that just Group A strep?

 

Group A Beta Hemolytic Strep (GABHS) is the strep that causes strep throat.

 

Here's a summary (from wikipedia...if you want to trust them!)

 

Beta-hemolytic streptococci

[edit] Group A

S. pyogenes, also known as Group A Streptococcus (GAS), is the causative agent in Group A streptococcal infections, including streptococcal pharyngitis ("strep throat"), acute rheumatic fever, scarlet fever, acute glomerulonephritis and necrotizing fasciitis. If strep throat is not treated, it can develop into rheumatic fever, a disease that affects the joints and heart valves. Other Streptococcus species may also possess the Group A antigen, but human infections by non-S. pyogenes GAS strains (some S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis and S. anginosus Group strains) appear to be uncommon.

 

Group A Strep infection is generally diagnosed with a Rapid Strep Test or by culture.

 

[edit] Group B

S. agalactiae, or GBS, causes pneumonia and meningitis in neonates and the elderly, with occasional systemic bacteremia. They can also colonize the intestines and the female reproductive tract, increasing the risk for premature rupture of membranes and transmission to the infant. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control recommend all pregnant women between 35 and 37 weeks gestation should be tested for GBS. Women who test positive should be given prophylactic antibiotics during labor, which will usually prevent transmission to the infant.[5] In the UK, clinicians have been slow to implement the same standards as the US, Australia and Canada. In the UK, only 1% of maternity units test for the presence of Group B Strep.[6] Although The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists issued risk-based guidelines in 2003 (due for review 2006), the implementation of these guidelines has been patchy. Some groups feel that as a result over 75 infants in the UK die each year of GBS related disease and another 600 or so suffer serious infection, most of which could be prevented [7] however this is yet to be substantiated by randomized controlled trial in the UK setting and, given the evidence for the efficacy of testing and treating from other countries, it may be that the large-scale trial necessary would receive neither funding nor ethics approval.[8]

 

[edit] Group C

Includes S. equi, which causes strangles in horses,[9] and S. zooepidemicus - a subspecies of S. equi - which causes infections in several species of mammals including cattle and horses. This can also cause death in chickens and moose.

 

[edit] Group D (enterococci) *variable in hemolysis

Many former Group D Streptococci have been reclassified and placed in the genus Enterococcus (including S. faecalis, S. faecium, S. durans, and S. avium).[10] For example, Streptococcus faecalis is now Enterococcus faecalis.

 

The remaining non-enterococcal Group D strains include Streptococcus bovis and Streptococcus equinus.

 

[edit] Group G Streptococci

These streptococci are usually but not exclusively beta hemolytic. Streptococcus canis is an example of a GGS which is typically found on animals but can cause infection in humans.

 

[edit] Non-hemolytic streptococci

Non-hemolytic streptococci rarely cause illness. However, weakly hemolytic group D beta-hemolytic streptococci and Listeria monocytogenes should not be confused with non-hemolytic streptococci.

[Debbie1]

Thanks for the quick replies. This was non-group A BHS and it was found on a throat culture.

[memom]

Debbie,

 

I had my daughters tonsils cultured a month after a nonresolving group A strep infection (confirmed by quick test). She was 4+Beta hemoyltic group C strep. Her throat was no longer sore but tonsils still swollen and her quick test was negative. I will never know if it has contributed in any way to her illness. Dr Latimer said no one knows if any other types of Beta Hemoyltic Strep cause any Pandas issues.

 

Ellie

[KeithandElizabeth]

Ellie

 

Did you treat this type of strep with a different type of antibiotic? If so, which type? Wow, how did they find strep C - with a regular 72 hour culture?

 

Elizabeth

[memom]

When the culture came back 4+Beta hemolytic strep, non group A, I called the lab and asked for an ID with sensitivity. Though the lab can do this, it is not routine if the strep is not group A. They ID'd it as Group C then did a sensitivity like they do for any other bacteria to antibiotics. It was resistant to Erythromycin only. Given her throat was actually healing slowly by the time the results came back (took around a week to complete), and we hadn't yet started profylactic antibiotics, we didn't treat. Given she had also just come off a bad GAS throat infection that was treated with Amox., her Pandas symptoms were crazy anyway so it was unclear if it was due to the GAS or GCS.

 

I had done research and found it to be considered part of normal throat flora for a portion of our population. I think since it was such a high colony count they reported it. She's now on full dose Augmentin and we plan on that for the next year. Her Pandas symptoms are improving with surgery, steroids and Augmentin.

Ellie

[colleenrn]

We have several times tested positive for beta hemolytic strep, NON A during flareups. In our case we see flareups with any type of strep. My 3 yo and myself tesdted positive for Group B strep also about 1 1/2 years ago, also during a flareup. A lot of physicians don't treat non A strep, but in PANDAS kids they should be treated.

 

Colleen