What are the dangers of hemolytic streptococcal infection?

Hemolytic streptococcal infection can cause great harm to patients, such as to the respiratory and cardiac systems. There is currently no clear explanation for the cause of the emergence of hemolytic streptococci, but it can cause diseases such as rheumatism and rheumatic fever in the body, and can also cause sepsis and other diseases in newborns, so friends should pay considerable attention to this bacteria.

Hemolytic streptococcal infection can cause respiratory and cardiac diseases. There is no clear explanation for its infection mechanism, but it can also cause rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever is a common, recurrent, acute or chronic systemic inflammatory disease of the connective tissue caused by group A hemolytic streptococcal infection, primarily affecting the heart, joints, central nervous system, skin, and subcutaneous tissue.

Pathogenicity

Hemolytic streptococci often cause purulent inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, respiratory tract infections, explosive outbreaks of epidemic pharyngitis, and allergic reactions such as neonatal sepsis, bacterial endocarditis, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, and glomerulonephritis. The pathogenicity of hemolytic streptococci is related to the toxins they produce and their invasive enzymes, which are mainly the following:

1. Streptolysin: There are two types of hemolysin, O and S. O is a protein containing -SH and is antigenic, while S is a small molecule polypeptide with a small molecular weight and is therefore non-antigenic.

2. Pyrogenic exotoxin: formerly known as rash toxin or scarlet fever toxin, it is the main toxic substance of scarlet fever in humans, which can cause local or systemic rash, fever, pain, nausea, vomiting, and general discomfort.

3. Hyaluronidase: also known as diffusion factor, it can decompose hyaluronic acid in the intercellular matrix, thereby increasing the invasiveness of bacteria and making it easier for pathogens to spread in tissues.

4. Streptokinase: also known as streptococcal plasmin, it can convert plasminogen in the blood into plasminase, which has the effect of enhancing the diffusion of bacteria in tissues. The enzyme is heat-resistant and can remain active at 100°C for 50 minutes.

5. Streptococcal DNA enzyme: also known as streptococcal DNA enzyme, it can thin the pus and promote the spread of bacteria.

6. Leukocidin: It can make white blood cells lose power, turn them into spheres, and finally swell and burst.

control

1. Prevent the contamination of various foods by carriers. People suffering from local suppurative infections and upper respiratory tract infections should suspend work that involves contact with food.

2. To prevent contamination of milk and its products, dairy farms should conduct regular physical examinations on dairy cows in production and insist on disinfection before milking. Once a cow is found to have suppurative mastitis, it must be isolated immediately. Dairy products must be made from sterilized raw materials and must be stored at low temperatures.

3. During the animal slaughtering process, inspection regulations should be strictly implemented, the lesions should be cut out and rinsed with running water; if purulent lesions are found during the meat processing, they should be removed as a whole.