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Prevention of streptococcal infection
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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In the absence of funds for specific prevention of aerosolized diseases, with a large number of erased and asymptomatic forms of infection, it is not so easy to reduce the incidence of streptococcal infection, therefore anti-epidemic measures in organized groups become especially important.
The basis for the prophylaxis of respiratory streptococcal infections in such groups is the early and active diagnosis of streptococcal infection, isolation and complete etiotropic treatment of the diseased. Penicillin drugs prevent group diseases with scarlet fever and reduce the incidence of angina and streptococcal ARI. To stop outbreaks of respiratory streptococcal diseases in organized groups, general emergency prophylaxis with penicillin drugs is carried out. For this purpose, all persons who have been in contact with patients are injected intramuscularly once daily with bicillin-5 (preschool children - 750,000 units, students and adults - 1,500,000 units) or bicillin-1 (preschool children - 600,000 units, schoolchildren and adults - 1,200,000 units ). In military contingents belonging to high-risk groups for respiratory streptococcal infection, urgent prophylaxis is advisable to be carried out immediately after the formation of teams and before the seasonal rise in morbidity (emergency prevention of the preventive type). In other collectives, where seasonal morbidity rises are relatively low or not of a regular nature, an interruptive type of emergency prevention can be used. In this case, it is carried out in the period of epidemic rise in morbidity.
In organized children's and adult groups, hospital conditions, sanitary and hygienic measures (decrease in the number of the collective, its crowding, general sanitary measures, disinfection regime) reduce the likelihood of airborne and contact-household transmission of the pathogen. Prevention of the alimentary route of infection is carried out in the same directions as in intestinal infections.
[Prevention of streptococcal infection in the epidemic outbreak
Prevention of streptococcal infection is the observance of measures aimed at neutralizing sources of infection (patients, convalescences, carriers) and preventing post-streptococcal complications. Treatment of streptococcal infection with penicillin drugs is carried out within ten days (WHO recommendations) - this is enough to completely sanitize patients as sources of infection and in order to prevent the development of post-streptococcal complications.