Aggressive, often deadly form of strep hits record-high case numbers in Canada – CBC
6 Ontario children have died from invasive Group A strep since October, says public health agency
Jan 17, 2024
Canada is seeing a record number of cases of invasive Group A strep, a bacterial infection that kills roughly one in 10 people who contract it, according to data obtained by CBC News.
More than 4,600 cases were confirmed in 2023 at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg, an increase of more than 40 per cent over the previous yearly high, in 2019, says the Public Health Agency of Canada.
This trend emerges as a new report from Public Health Ontario shows six children have died of invasive Group A strep in the province since October.
Over the final three months of 2023, the number of cases in Ontario and hospitalizations from the disease were nearly double those during the same time period the previous year, says the report.
That’s prompting warnings from public health officials and medical experts about the potential severity of the disease.
