From the end of '23 to last spring, Canada was plagued by salmonella infections in fresh fruits and vegetables. A number of residents of the United States and Canada have eaten fruits infected with Salmonella, resulting in paralysis and serious deaths. And this incident is not well controlled, and there is a tendency to surge.
There was a resident named Colin Hunter at the timeWhen he felt a sore throat and a fever, he didn't think much of it. Thought it was just the usual flu and so on. A week later, while he was on a day job, the middle finger of his right hand began to feel a little tingling. By noon it was swollen. In the evening, just a few hours later, the condition of the fingers began to deteriorate.
By about 5 p.m., the end of my finger was growing from nothing, and suddenly I had a big, fat, grape-like tumor, and it was very dark, and the area around my nails was swollen, and every heartbeat was very noticeable," he recalls. "That's when I went to the emergency room."
Doctors at the local hospital were concerned that it was necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease. So they cut his finger open and did some examinationIt turned out to be a surprising diagnosis: he was infected with Streptococcus A.
Colin Hunter had never heard of anyone holding something like this. He then realized that his previous sore throat and fever might have been an undiagnosed form of strep throat and that the bacteria could get into his fingers through something as small as a paper cut.
The 47-year-old Ontario resident ended up spending five days on intravenous antibiotics**. While he was in the hospital, doctors said the infection was likely to spread through his bloodstream and marked the path of transmission along Hunter's arm with a black marker.
After another round of antibiotics at the hospital** and at home**, he was completely**. I was afraid that if he didn't seek medical help as soon as possible, the terrible consequences would happen. "I'm probably going to have my finger cut off."
Fast-spreading and potentially fatal streptococcal infections known as invasive group A streptococci or IGAs are on the rise in Canada and are reaching new highs in 2023. Dozens of deaths have also been reported in various provinces over the past few months, including at least 10 children in Ontario and B.C. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, have also reported significant spikes in deaths.
The big question is: why? Why are we experiencing these spikes in serious infections in Canada and other countries?
Scientists say this is not a single conclusive piece of evidence, but a complex set of factors, some of which were present even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Group A streptococci are a group of bacteria that usually cause milder forms of illnessExamples include strep throat, infection, or scarlet fever. In these cases, antibiotics can usually solve the problem. The invasive form occurs when streptococci enter soft tissues or bloodstream. Although relatively rare, these Igas infections usually progress rapidly, leading to a range of serious illnessesThese include toxic shock syndrome, sepsis, and brain inflammation. Of the various bacteria that can make humans sick, this family probably causes more disease species than any other bacteria.
Most estimates suggest that about 1 in 10 people die from IGAS, sometimes within 12 to 24 hours of infection. Studies have shown that these infection rates have been quietly rising for years, and a Canadian study published in September 2022 used the National Disease Surveillance Database to look at the incidence of IGAS between 2009 and 2019. The latest statistics from 4,600 IGAS samples processed in 2023, provided to CBC News by the Public Health Agency of Canada, suggest that the incidence rate could now be as high as 12 cases per 100,000 people.
The family of bacteria behind streptococcus-related diseases often thrives in congregate settings, including long-term care facilities and shelter systemsBecause it spreads through close contact, including open wounds and airborne droplets when coughing, talking, or sneezing.