Strep Throat Case Studies

• For this write-up, I will be focusing on strep throat in adolescents and adults, and will expand on the background of this sickness, prevention, and treatment. Strep throat is a bacterial infection caused by streptococcal bacteria, and it generally occurs in the pharynx. Since it is a bacterial infection, it can spread from person to person extremely easy. This may be why adolescents are very susceptible to this illness, because they tend to share drinks, food, and other objects with different people. These objects can then easily act as a vehicle of transmission for this bacteria, passing it from one person to another. Also, according to the CDC.gov, if someone infected with strep throat coughs or sneezes, “the bacteria travel in small droplets of water called respiratory droplets”. If someone breathes in these droplets or touches something infected by it, then touch their eyes, nose or mouth, they may become infected (CDC.org). …show more content…
These symptoms include: “a sudden, severe sore throat, pain when you swallow, fever over 101°F, swollen tonsils and lymph nodes, and white or yellow spots on the back of a bright red throat” (WebMD.com). Another important aspect of this illness to look at is the amount of cases per year. According to a 2016 article by Androulla Efstratiou titled “Epidemiology of Streptococcus Pyogenes”, sore throats are diagnosed in approximately 11 million people in the United States each year. Most cases are viral, however, group A streptococcal bacteria is the culprit in, “15–30% of the pharyngitis cases in children and 5–20% in adults”