The Incidence of Group A Beta Hemolytic Streptococci in Throat Specimens from Upper Respiratory Infections

• Main Authors: Irfan Sevinc, Murat Enoz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Karolinum Press 2007-01-01
• Series: Acta Medica
• Subjects: Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci; Upper respiratory tract infections; Incidence; Throat culture
• Online Access: https://actamedica.lfhk.cuni.cz/50/4/0243/

Objective: The aim of the study is researching the incidence of group A beta hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) in upper respiratory tract infections in Turkey. Study design: This is a descriptive study. Subject and Methods: Totally, 3964 throat swabs obtained from patients with upper respiratory tract infections were cultured for isolation of GABHS in Corlu Military Hospital, Department of Microbiology, between April 2002 and April 2004. Standard microbiological techniques were used in the screening. Results: In this study, GABHS were isolated from 230 (5.80 %) of 3964 patients. The rate of isolation was 79 (5.65 %)/914 in 2002 year, 103 (5.55 %)/1857 in 2003 year, and 48 (6.77 %)/709 in 2004 year. The rate of isolation was 50 (5.47 %)/914 in the spring, 21 (3.21 %)/642 in the summer, 49 (5.81 %)/844 in the autumn, and 110 (7.03 %)/1564 in the winter. Conclusion: We found that the overall incidence of GABHS in respiratory tract infections (5,80 %) was lower than other studies and the incidence was the highest in the winter.