While group A Streptococcus bacteria — also known as Streptococcus pyogenes or Strep A — causes many common conditions such as strep throat and skin infections, invasive group A Streptococcus infections are very dangerous and a medical emergency. It’s these invasive infections that you may have read about lately, and that you may have questions about.
Today in The Conversation Canada, John McCormick and Juan Manuel Diaz of Western University write about what might be causing the international spike in cases, how these infections spread and what symptoms to be aware of.
“Group A Streptococcus can sometimes develop into invasive infections that put patients’ lives at risk, such as necrotizing fasciitis, septicemia (blood poisoning) and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome,” they write. “To generate this wide range of diseases in different parts of the body, the organism has several factors that promote infection and allow the bacteria to invade, colonize and survive in different tissues.”
Also today:
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An increase in cases of diseases caused by group A Streptococcus has been seen in several countries including Canada.
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID))
John McCormick, Western University; Juan Manuel Diaz, Western University
An increase in serious illnesses caused by group A Streptococcus has recently made Strep A a growing concern in Canada and elsewhere. Here’s why and how it’s spreading, and what symptoms to look for.
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Norman Jewison (left) and Lynne St. David-Jewison arrive on the red carpet at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Vincent Georgie, University of Windsor
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Greta Lee in a scene from ‘Past Lives.’
(Jon Pack/A24 via AP)
Dal Yong Jin, Simon Fraser University
‘Past Lives’ is a beautiful story of childhood crushes, and the sorrow and agony that ensues when one party sends another party away to move to another stage of his or her life.
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Producer-director Norman Jewison, left, demonstrates how he wants an actor to wash the feet of Jesus, portrayed by Ted Neeley, during filming of the movie version of the rock musical, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ in October 1972.
(AP Photo, File)
Lisa Coulthard, University of British Columbia
A tension between cult, critical and popular appeal is part of Norman Jewison’s most prominent legacy.
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(Shutterstock)
Meena Andiappan, McMaster University; Lucas Dufour, Toronto Metropolitan University
When employees are able to reconceptualize jealousy as a motivating force, this opens up new venues to address, overcome, and even capitalize on the feeling.
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Les femmes veulent bien accéder aux plus hautes fonctions. Mais pas à n’importe quel prix.
(Shutterstock)
Louise Champoux-Paillé, Concordia University; Anne-Marie Croteau, Concordia University
Les femmes sont de plus en plus présentes dans les fonctions de très haute direction, mais elles se retrouvent dans des fonctions dites de support, qui mènent rarement aux postes de PDG.
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Environment + Energy
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Mia Momberg, University of Pretoria
Climate change could reduce suitable nesting sites for the wandering albatross on Marion Island.
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Politics
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Sara Harmouch, American University; Nakissa Jahanbani, United States Military Academy West Point
Iran has expanded its network of partners across the Middle East. But it isn’t a simple case of Tehran dictating the terms of the alliance.
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Science + Tech
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Charles Weir, Lancaster University
A new study consulted futurists for their predictions about technological evolution.
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