Non-group A streptococci: are they pathogens in the throat?

M N H Chowdhury Department of Microbiology College of Medicine and King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh Saudi Arabia A.M. Kambal Department of Microbiology College of Medicine and King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh Saudi Arabia Y.A. Al-Eissa Department of Paediatrics College of Medicine and King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh Saudi Arabia M R A Khaliq Department of Microbiology College of Medicine and King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh Saudi Arabia I.H. Al-Ayed Department of Paediatrics College of Medicine and King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh Saudi Arabia A.M. Al-Sanie Department of Paediatrics College of Medicine and King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh Saudi ArabiaA total of 3,184 paediatric patients with sporadic pharyngitis was studied at King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition, 478 children without pharyngitis who were matched for age and sex were included as controls. Group A ß-haemolytic streptococci (ßHS) were detected significantly more often among the children with pharyngitis than among the controls (8.4% vs 2.3%; p <0.0001). In contrast, total non-group A and group C ßHS were isolated at lower frequency from the sick than control children (0.9% vs 2.5% and 0.2% vs 1.2% respectively; p