title: Scarlet fever and group A streptococcal surgical wound infection traced to an anal carrier.
abstract: Four patients developed group A streptococcal wound infections shortly following orthopedic surgery. Two of these patients developed scarlet fever which provided an early indication of the presence of a streptococcal epidemic. A single antigenically characteristic strain of group A streptococci was recovered from the wounds of all four patients and from the anus of one surgeon who had participated in the surgery on three of the patients.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001003:Anal Canal / Q000382:microbiology; D002353:Carrier State; D002648:Child; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000635:transmission*; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012541:Scarlet Fever / Q000635:transmission*; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology