STREP THROAT
STREPTOCOCCAL PHARYNGITIS
STREPTOCOCCAL TONSILLITIS
Presenter: Jennifer Wang (:
What is it?
• Bacterial infection in throat and tonsils
• Throat becomes inflamed and irritated
• Primarily caused by : Group A streptococcal bacteria
• Most common from ages 5-15
• Typically, sore throats are caused by viral infections—not bacteria.
Discovery
• Streptococci bacteria were observed by
Anton Van Leeuwenhoek in 1674 with his
trusty microscope.
• In 1904 Friedrich Reinhardt Strep
discovered it as the cause of the throat
illness, hence its name.
How can it be diagnosed/identified?
SYMPTOMS:
• Severe and sudden sore throat with no cold
symptoms
• red and white patches, or coating, in throat
• pain and difficulty swallowing
• swollen glands/lymph nodes in neck
• red and enlarged tonsils
• Fever over 101 degrees Fahrenheit
• loss of appetite and nausea, headache, belly pain
• Skin rash (scarlet fever)
Tests
• Physical exam (swollen lymph nodes, presence of symptoms…)
• Rapid strep test-analyzes bacteria in throat to see if strep is the
cause.
• Throat culture-analyzes cells in back of throat. The cells are placed
in container with substances that promote strep growth. If strep
bacteria do grow, the culture is positive.
• Throat culture is more accurate.
How can you get it? O_O
• Strep throat is highly contagious!
• You can get it by breathing in droplets with strep bacteria in the air,
usually when a person who has strep throat breathes, coughs, or
sneezes.
• Strep throat usually goes away in 3 to 7 days.
• Doctors may suggest over the counter relief medicine.
• May give antibiotics to prevent spread.
• Some home remedies: Drink water, sleep, throat lozenges, herbal
tea, etc.
• BUT…complications may occur if infection spreads to other parts of
body. 
Pretty pictures of strep throat yay
White tonsillar exudate
Small red spots
Sources
• http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/images/0/05/Strep.jpg
• http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/labs/microbiology/strep_detec
tion/strep_test.htm
• http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/tc/strep-throat-topic-overview
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcal_pharyngitis
• http://www.emedicinehealth.com/strep_throat/page5_em.htm