Two Montreal children have died from complications related to Strep A infections; for doctor Gaétan Barrette, the watchword is vigilance.
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This was advanced by the radiologist and former provincial minister of Health in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
“Group A streptococcus is a bacterium, it is not a virus, which has always existed, we know it. And it’s treatable, and it’s treatable best when caught early. So vigilance – and there I think the people listening to us will have already heard that – it’s the strep test”, he explains.
Citizens can obtain the strep test either at the pharmacy or at the doctor’s.
“It’s free,” said Dr. Barrette. It’s less complicated than going to the emergency room: we call the pharmacist, then we ask does he offer it? We can even, if the test is positive, give antibiotics.
In most cases, streptococcus remains relatively harmless; many are wondering about the recent deaths in Montreal.
“It’s part of the evolution of this disease. This bacterium is so common, that we forget in the population, including in the medical population, that every year there are people who die of this infection, ”he laments.
In fact, 500,000 people, mostly children, die of strep every year.
Dr. Barrette lists a series of signs to look out for.
“When the child has a sore throat, has a temperature, has muscle aches, a rash […]. Well that, we’re going to the hospital, we have a strep test, it’s settled. But there is a small proportion where the fire catches, and there the bacteria goes everywhere, ”he explains.
Streptococcus is thus to be taken seriously, insists Dr. Barrette.