Public Health Management of Invasive Group A Streptococcal Disease in the Northern Territory Guideline

Abstract

Invasive group A Streptococcal (iGAS) infection is a rare but serious disease that occurs in a complex relationship with clinical and social determinants of health. Public health responses to iGAS vary between jurisdictions. The release of this updated version of the Northern Territory (NT) iGAS public health management guidelines co-incides with iGAS becoming nationally notifiable in all Australian states and territories from July 2021.1 iGAS has been notifiable in the Northern Territory since May 2011 and in Queensland since December 2015. An ongoing public health response to iGAS is supported by Australian surveillance data.1-3 The NT population is burdened by particularly high rates of group A Streptococcal (GAS)-related disease. These NT guidelines are based on local epidemiology, expert opinion and available local and international evidence (see Appendix). Dosing revisions in this document are in line with current Australian Therapeutic Guidelines and the Central Australian Rural Practitioners Association (CARPA) Standard Treatment Manual