Group F Strep

My daughter has been sick off and on for over a year. Always testing negative for strep and mono.  Last three months she has become worse, her rheumatolgist said she has Fibromyalgia that has been brought on by an underlying illness which we don't know what that illness is yet. She has had so many tests, bone marrow, bone scan etc and all came back negative. However just last weak she tested positive for Strep Group F, which the dr said was very rare. What causes this type of strep and what are the risks if any?

[acougar]

I had group F Strep two years ago and after "clearing" that infection, I had many many minor infections and cough. I also have asthma now and my lungs are basically shot. I cough pretty constantly and there are times when I go into my coughing attacks (although nowhere near as bad as when I had the group F) to the point of gagging. As you have probably found, there is really nothing online about group F. If you have any more questions let me know, I might be able to help considering I went through it and spent nights awake from coughing.

[kimmiest]

I have had sore, swollen throat with white pus pockets for almost 2 months now. It never goes away but gets better then worse. My husband now has it as well. I had done several Strep swabs at the office but they came back neg. I
did a cbc since I had been sick for so long and the streps swabs where neg. Results where crazy high WBC, RDW, Neutrophils, & absolute Neutrophils that where on alert. Also low Lymphs. We did a throat culture @ a f/u cbc. CBC came back with everything normal this time but the neutrophils where where on there way down. My chest has been very uncomfortable for about 2wks now. The culture came back moderate strep F & Heavy routine respitory flora. I took PCN on my own last night but it didnt help. What is this strep F? All I find is case studies not info.

[kimmiest]

sorry took a full week of PCN last month not last week. sorry
bout that typo.

[jackhandy]

I am a respiratory therapist. I took care a 53 year old man complaining of pain in his throat for three weeks. He had gone to his doctor twice in that time once tested for strep, which came back negative. The other time they tested for mono which also came back negative. He came into the E.R. for his soar throat and was admitted to the hospital. He quickly deteriorated and by that night had respiratory difficulty and a fever of 106. He was septic and his blood pressure very low despite being maxed out on pressers. Sadly he expired two days later. He had a lump in his neck thought to be a possible abscess and the source of his infection. His blood culture was positive for step f. This is the first I have heard of step f and is why I am trying to find information on it. I just thought I would share. Not that it will probably be helpful to anyone.      

[Fritz488]

I do not know if this helps anyone, but any info is better than what is out there on Strep group F right now (which is practically nothing).
I was tested positive with Strep F and my doctor said a regular round of penicillin antibiotics will take care of it (hope so). Somehow I feel that this all started when I was having back pain and went to see a chiropractor and message therapist.  It was like the chiropractic correction and message "released" something that was harboring in my lymph nodes, (by the way, all my adjustment and message was focused in the neck area).
I have never experienced such extreme pain in my throat before.  It started with fever, extreme chills, headache, joint ache, and then finally the sore throat with itchiness in the torso. I know have small, hard bumps in my neck area and up into my head. From what I have been reading, what little is out there, I have decided I am not fooling around with this, and will see a specialist for ears,nose and throat.

[Shine88]

Group F strep is one of the streptococcus species that is part of the Streptococcus anginosus group (formally called Streptococcus milleri).  It is found as part of the Normal bacterial flora in the oral cavity, GI tract and genitourinary tract.  It can be the cause of serious deep tissue abscesses in places like the brain or liver but is generally considered to be normal in moderate amounts in the throat or mouth.  An exception to this rule would be the presence of a tonsillar or dental abscess - Strep anginosus would have to be considered in these cases.
It is very difficult for the Microbiologist in the lab to determine it's significance as they rarely receive complete information on the patient involved (ie: is it just a routine throat culture or is there something more serious going on).  It is often reported with the hope that the physician will consider all aspects of the patient's condition before determining if treatment is needed.  Unfortunately it seems most physicians are not familiar with this bug and will treat anyone who gets a culture result with strep listed.  The good news is it is very susceptible to routine antibiotic treatment - the bad news is that treatment is usually not indicated.
As a clinical microbiologist in a hospital for over 30 years, I would question any doctor who wanted to treat me for a Group F strep on a routine throat culture (remember - NOT abscess culture) - it probably isn't the cause of my illness

[itkilledmybaby]

I was pregnant and my water broke at 20 weeks the baby died on Saturday,I was found to have strep F. WHAT CAUSES THIS? no one seems to know

[Dan_C85]

I wasn't feeling well one day, and went into the ER at a local hospital, only to find out that my flu and strept cultures came back negative.  So I went on my way taking fever/cough surpressant, then after a couple days I realized nothing was getting better, at which point I decided to check myself in at a walk-in clinic.  It was no sooner than I had payed the co-pay I got a call from the hospital I previously went to, and they told me, I did indeed have Strept, Type F.  

I am a 27 year old male, from FL and I have been on Amoxicillin for this for about a week now, it seems to work just fine.  I have heard other instances where someone may be older in age or have immune compromising conditios, that seem to get septic.  That is all I know, so my guess if like pnuemonia (pneumonia) or the flu, it can be fatal for infants or the elderly if not treated.  This however is just a mere observation, and since there is not really much information on it, I thought I would share.

[gfrances775]

I was just diagnosed with group F strep throat, thanks for all the previous posts, it's been hard to find on the web. It started with back pain between the shoulder blades and a sore neck. I did have a massage, but the next few days my legs hurt bad, like I had run a few miles. After about 4 days from that I woke up at 2AM with stomach cramps and nausea. The next day I went to a clinic and was told I most likely had 2 different flu viruses, by this time it was hard to swallow and my lymph nodes were swollen. The Dr. didn't think it was strep and it was viral flu but took a throat culture anyways.  That was last Sat. 5 days ago! Also I had a abscess on my upper thigh that continually got bigger and harder but finally drained last night. Tonight I started Zithromax for 5 days. It has moved into my chest and the coughing is long and hard, I have asthma so I'm glad to finally be on antibiotics. I'm a 54 year old female.

[lindajo741]

My daughter has been struggling with something similar and the ER doctor prescribed plain old penicillin, 500 mg 4 times a day for 10 days.  Her culture came back positive for Strep Group F.  If the Z pack doesn't work you might look for a doc who will prescribe penicillin.  The scientific literature seems to indicate that it works well for Strep F.

[cyndora]

How easy is it to get septicemia from Strep F.  Will a Z pack or penicillin take care of the strep?  What are symptoms that you should worry about that would suggest a ER visit?

[HappyLavender]

A penicillin based product will take care of it. I had it last summer. My family doc was the only one who would give me penicillin based product. He was a bit upset the urgent care didn't err on the side of caution and prescribe it. He has been a doc for 40 years and was quite unfamiliar with the strand. I did find a medical write up on it, but unless you are savvy with medical terminology it may be difficult to follow

[HappyLavender]

http://jmm.sgmjournals.org/content/33/3/135.full.pdf

Article about type f strep

[HappyLavender]

http://jmm.sgmjournals.org/content/33/3/135.full.pdf

Maybe you can read and interpret this article from 1990 on type f strep

[HappyLavender]

http://jmm.sgmjournals.org/content/33/3/135.full.pdf

Article on type f strep