Strep A pathogenesis and treatment

Discovering more about how group A streptococcus causes disease and developing treatments to combat it.

My research focuses on the mechanism by which the group A streptococcus (referred to as Streptococcus pyogenes; GAS or simply Strep A) causes invasive disease as well as the development of a vaccine. This bacterium is the cause of numerous suppurative diseases, ranging from mild skin infections such as pharyngitis, scarlet fever, impetigo and cellulitis, to more severe invasive diseases such as septicemia, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis. Strep A is placed within the “top 10″ infectious disease causes of human deaths worldwide with Indigenous Australians suffering the highest rates of affliction in the world.

There are over 200 serotypes of Strep A with the most dominant, the M1T1 clone that emerged in the mid 1980's, historically causing the most infections and deaths. A new M1T1 variant has emerged around the world, designated M1uk, that is contributing to the recent upsurge in scarlet fever and Strep A invasive disease. It is imperative that we understand the mechanisms by which Strep A cause disease and develop new and effective treatment methods as well as a vaccine to prevent illness.