Investigators: Asha Bowen, Dylan Barth, Janessa Pickering, Tim Barnett
External collaborators: Mark Davies (Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne)
Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) is a germ that causes sore throats and skin sores. Strep A can be passed from person to person when you cough, sneeze or shake hands. Strep A lives in the bodies of many people (usually in their throats), without causing them any serious problems. For some kids a sore throat or skin sore causes a reaction to Strep A that can damage their heart. This heart damage is known as rheumatic heart disease and is most likely to happen when Strep A is not treated properly.
Rheumatic heart disease is found all over the world and is most common for kids who live in crowded houses and limited access to a place to wash their hands, clothes or bodies. There is no cure for rheumatic heart disease, so it is important to prevent it from happening. To be able to prevent this heart damage, we need tests that can tell us which sore throats are caused by Strep A and which ones are caused by less dangerous germs.
We want to better understand the Strep A germ and why it can make some kids sick and others not. This is tricky because other germs can cause sore throats, and they feel the same for the child. A dry, scratchy, painful throat can make it hard to swallow, and there can be a fever too. We can’t tell which germ is causing the sore throat without good tests to help us find out when the Strep A germ is present, and when it is not.
This project is about developing new laboratory tests that will allow scientists to better understand the causes of sore throats. We will use cotton tip swabs to take samples from children with a sore throat, and trial our new tests on these samples. The tests that we are developing will also be able to be used for other infections, and in other cities and countries of the world.
It is important that we check that our tests work on these samples. We are looking at whether we can collect these samples from children when they go the hospital or a doctor, and when they are at school. Collecting samples from children who are sick with a sore throat will mean our tests are being used for the children that need it. By making sure our tests work properly on throat samples, it means scientists can use them to find out more information about the cause of sore throats.