Potentially deadly strep infections on the rise in N.W.T., chief public health officer says

Wilfred Simon says it started one day in April after he'd been at his daughter's duplex in Fort Resolution, N.W.T., helping her deal with a plumbing issue. 

"I washed my hands good, and I thought I did a good job. Then I went home that night and my leg was itchy — so I scratched it, and I made it bleed," he said.

He figures that's how the infection started.

"The bug got inside there, I guess," he said.

Simon, 69, woke up the next morning feeling feverish and unwell. His wife convinced him to go to the local health centre, and within hours, he was being flown to Yellowknife, where he was in a coma for nine days and almost lost his leg — and his life.

He had necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, Simon said. It's a type of strep infection.

Fast-spreading and potentially deadly strep infections — known as invasive group A strep, or iGAS — have been on the rise in the territory this year, according to N.W.T. health officials, mirroring recent trends seen across Canada and elsewhere.

So far this year, the N.W.T. has seen nine confirmed cases of invasive group A strep. That's equal to the territory's yearly average, and the year's not yet half over. One of those people has died.

Almost half of the cases so far this year happened in May, according to Dr. Kami Kandola, the territory's chief public health officer. 

"That's a small time period. So we are being vigilant," she said. 

"There's no connection between them. The only thing that I could see trending is, this is occurring across Canada. So this is not unique to the Northwest Territories.

"I don't know why this particular year we're starting to see an upswing. But when we do see that swing, it's really important that we let people know."

Group A streptococcus is a family of bacteria that typically causes milder illnesses, such as painful strep throat, skin infections or scarlet fever. In those cases, antibiotics usually clear things up.

The invasive form occurs when strep bacteria enter the soft tissues or the bloodstream. Though relatively rare, those iGAS infections often progress rapidly, leading to a range of serious illnesses ranging from toxic shock syndrome to sepsis to brain inflammation.