An Alberta pharmacist is warning about an increase in strep throat this fall. Brian Jones owns a Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy in Calgary, and says not only is there more strep throat so far this back-to-school season, but the cases are often more severe.
“When you look at the statistics, there as high as 48 per cent positivity — normally we see positivity in the 20-25 per cent so this is definitely a huge amount of strep throat that we are seeing,” he says. “Some people think of strep throat as just being a sore throat, however strep throat itself can actually be very harmful to patients so it is important that we treat it and because we have had very little immunity over the last couple of years, I believe that is why we are seeing an increase in the severity of strep throat.”
He adds there is certain reason there are so many strep throat cases this year, but he believes reduced immunity caused by pandemic measures such as social distancing and avoiding gatherings plays a role.
“Strep throat is spread basically through improper hand washing and possibly people not following respiratory etiquette — covering your mouth when you sneeze or you cough and typically, we don’t want to use our hands, we want to use our sleeve to prevent spreading through your hands,“ he says.
Strep throat symptoms can appear very quickly and Jones says it is important to get tested for the illness so it can be treated.
“It hurts very badly to swallow, there is a possibility you could have red or swollen tonsils,” he says, adding some children experience a fever, headache, body aches and even nausea.
If people experience symptoms, Jones says pharmacists can do tests and provide treatment.
