Management of outbreaks of iGAS infection

An outbreak of invasive group A streptococcal (iGAS) infection is defined as 2 or more epidemiologically linked cases (eg inpatient facility, long-term care facility, childcare centre, community) with an identical strain on molecular typing. The National Guidelines for Public Health Units provide detail on defining an outbreak and public health management. For outbreaks in institutional settings, all asymptomatic staff and residents should be offered antibiotic prophylaxis at the same time, see Prophylaxis regimens for iGAS infection and seek expert advice.

A household cluster is defined as 2 or more cases of iGAS infection that occur in the same household or household-like setting within 30 days of symptom onset in the initial case. For household clusters, all household contacts should be offered antibiotic prophylaxis, see Prophylaxis regimens for iGAS infection and seek expert advice.