ADVICE FROM THE WOMAN’S WEEKLY GP
This bacteria can cause a wide variety of skin, soft-tissue and respiratory tract infections, ranging in severity from mild to life-threatening. GAS infection may present as a mild sore throat (strep throat), but can cause many skin and soft-tissue infections, including impetigo, erysipelas and cellulitis. Under some circumstances, it results in diseases, such as scarlet fever or pneumonia.
GAS can very rarely cause extremely serious conditions, known as invasive group A Streptococcus (iGAS) infections. These include bacteraemia (an infection of the bloodstream), septic arthritis, meningitis, necrotising fasciitis (a severe infection leading to death of some soft tissue below
