Emily Trussell
Period 5
Case Study #8
Name of Disease: Strep Throat
Scientific Name of Pathogen: Streptococcus pyogenes Type of Pathogen: Bacteria 1. What is the pathology of the disease?
Strep throat is an infection in which bacteria lives in a person’s nose and throat. The bacteria causes sore throat, and pain when swallowing. The tonsils become red and swollen, with white patches or streaks of pus at times. In order to fight the infection, the immune system produces antibodies to help destroy the bacteria. Because the immune system is ramping up, 101 degree and above fevers are common in those with strep throat. Inflammation, redness, and swelling occur as a result of …show more content…
How prevalent is the disease?
There are around 616 million cases of strep throat each year around the world. It is most common in temperate areas and peaks during late winter and early spring. Many school-age children contain the carrier form of the bacteria in their throats and are at a higher risk of being infected. The infection is most common in school-ages children and is also commonly found in places where many people live/work closely in an enclosed space, such as a school.
4. What is the prognosis for a person with the disease?
Strep throat is a very minor infection if treated properly and is easily curable. If it is diagnosed quickly and antibiotics are used, symptoms vanish quickly and a person will no longer be contagious after 24 hours. If it is properly cured, the infection will have no influence on the life span of a person.
5. What treatments are available?
Antibiotics to treat strep throat are not very expensive, and with a strep test and doctor’s appointment could cost a couple hundred dollars all together. The treatment is available to the general public and is fairly simple to get ahold of in countries such as the U.S.. However, in other less developed countries, treatment is less available much harder to obtain. Though strep throat is a controlled infection and easily cured most of the time if caught and treated, research is still being done to find new ways of curing it. Researchers are still trying to find new methods of treating strep that will
Period 5
Case Study #8
Name of Disease: Strep Throat
Scientific Name of Pathogen: Streptococcus pyogenes Type of Pathogen: Bacteria 1. What is the pathology of the disease?
Strep throat is an infection in which bacteria lives in a person’s nose and throat. The bacteria causes sore throat, and pain when swallowing. The tonsils become red and swollen, with white patches or streaks of pus at times. In order to fight the infection, the immune system produces antibodies to help destroy the bacteria. Because the immune system is ramping up, 101 degree and above fevers are common in those with strep throat. Inflammation, redness, and swelling occur as a result of …show more content…
How prevalent is the disease?
There are around 616 million cases of strep throat each year around the world. It is most common in temperate areas and peaks during late winter and early spring. Many school-age children contain the carrier form of the bacteria in their throats and are at a higher risk of being infected. The infection is most common in school-ages children and is also commonly found in places where many people live/work closely in an enclosed space, such as a school.
4. What is the prognosis for a person with the disease?
Strep throat is a very minor infection if treated properly and is easily curable. If it is diagnosed quickly and antibiotics are used, symptoms vanish quickly and a person will no longer be contagious after 24 hours. If it is properly cured, the infection will have no influence on the life span of a person.
5. What treatments are available?
Antibiotics to treat strep throat are not very expensive, and with a strep test and doctor’s appointment could cost a couple hundred dollars all together. The treatment is available to the general public and is fairly simple to get ahold of in countries such as the U.S.. However, in other less developed countries, treatment is less available much harder to obtain. Though strep throat is a controlled infection and easily cured most of the time if caught and treated, research is still being done to find new ways of curing it. Researchers are still trying to find new methods of treating strep that will