A deadly new variant of bacteria may have been responsible for a surge of cases in the last 17 years, researchers have revealed.
The study at Imperial College, London, UK, may help explain why group A streptococcus has been responsible for increasingly serious infections.
Researchers found a new sub-type of the bacteria releases a high level of toxins.
It is a sub-type of the emm89 strain, which has been increasingly common since 1998 in the UK, Japan, Canada, France and Sweden, according to the report in mBio.
As well as producing more toxin, the bacteria have lost their outer capsule – a "complete surprise", the researchers say.
The loss of the outer capsule may improve the adhesive qualities of the bacteria – and improve their access to human cells, they believe.
The research has also shown the new strain remains sensitive to penicillin.
Researcher Professor Shiranee Sriskandan said: “We know very little about how group A streptococcus is transmitted from person to person. We need to look into this more deeply and think about better ways to prevent transmission."
C.E. Turner et al. Emergence of a New Highly Successful Acapsular Group A Streptococcus Clade of the Genotype emm89 in the United Kingdom. mBio 15 July 2015; 6(4):e00622-15; doi:10.1128/mBio.00622-15
Leave a Reply