What you need to know about strep throat and amoxicillin shortage

Photo: Denis Tabler (Shutterstock)

You or your children may already be familiar with strep throat; I know I had to undergo many throat swabs and pink liquid medication when I was a kid. But drugs to treat it are in short supply right now, and the CDC recently warned that they are seeing an increase in cases of the most serious forms of group A strep. Here's what it all means.

What is streptococcus?

"Strep" is a nickname for two different types of bacteria. Streptococcus pyogenes is known as group A streptococcus, and it is the one that causes strep throat. ("Strep" refers to a chain shape and "coccus" to a ball shape, as these bacteria appear under the microscope as a chain of small balls.)

Group A Streptococcus is responsible for:

strep throat Scarlet fever (also called scarlet fever) Impetigo, a skin infection Acute articular rhumatism Certain types of toxic shock syndrome, cellulitis, and necrotizing fasciitis

In contrast, group B streptococcus is a different species, best known for causing serious infections in newborn babies who pick up the bacteria at birth.

What are the symptoms of strep throat?

Typical symptoms of strep throat are sore throat and fever. Scarlet fever is similar, but also includes a rash. And even though "scarlet fever" sounds like something out of a Dickensian novel, it's still quite common today in children between the ages of 5 and 15. Fortunately, she is cured.

Signs of strep throat include a red throat, white patches on the swollen tonsils, and small red spots called petechiae on the roof of the mouth. The CDC has a graphic and some additional information here. Normally, strep throat does not include a cough or runny nose.

Scarlet fever also tends to involve a red sore throat, and the child may have a whitish coating on the tongue that progresses to a bumpy “strawberry” appearance. There is often a red, sandpaper-like rash that appears in skin folds, such as the armpits.

Impetigo is a skin condition that...