Sacramento toddler requires amputations as a result of serious Strep A infection

According to a FOX40-KTXL report earlier this week, Ryan and Leah Jeffers took their 2-year-old daughter, Malyia to the emergency room at Methodist Hospital of Sacramento. Malyia got an infection and her condition was worsening.

At the emergency room, the Jeffers waited for 5 hours as physicians thought the toddler only had a cold, fever and rash. However, as time ticked by, the child’s condition worsened and she eventually went into liver failure.

Malyia was ultimately airlifted to Stanford Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto where doctors there told the parents in order to save Malyia’s life; she’d require amputation of a hand and both feet.

In an interview Mr. Jeffers had with the news station, he said:

This is the hardest thing I was dreading the most... was having to make a decision. They said 'your daughter's dying and the only thing we can do to save her is to amputate.

Though she is currently on dialysis and a ventilator, it appears the child will survive.

It appears the causative agent of Malyia’s infection was Streptococcus pyogenes or beta strep group A. This is a very common pathogenic organism seen in humans.

Streptococcus pyogenes produces numerous virulence factors that lend to its pathogenicity, or disease-causing capabilities.

It contains a capsule that helps allow the bacteria to disguise it from getting engulfed by white blood cells (phagocytosis). It also contains proteins on its cell wall that allows it to adhere to epithelial cells, which allows it to produce disease.

S. pyogenes also produces several enzymes that give the bacteria the ability to destroy tissue and spread. Lastly, this bacterium also produces a wide variety of toxins that can produce generally mild symptoms like a rash, to toxins that can cause multi-organ failure.

Probably the most common disease caused by Streptococcus pyogenes is pharyngitis, or strep throat. Strep throat is very common in school-aged children, particularly in the winter and spring months. Untreated strep throat can lead to more serious complications like rheumatic fever; however, this is relatively uncommon.

It is also a cause of several skin infections such as impetigo and cellulitis. Impetigo is a characterized by a crusty lesion frequently found on the mouth area. Cellulitis typically occurs after a wound or burn where the bacteria enters and spread though the skin and lower tissues.

More serious, potentially life-threatening infections caused by Streptococcus pyogenes include necrotizing fasciitis (commonly called flesh-eating bacteria) and toxic shock syndrome. In addition, Streptococcus pyogenes can cause scarlet fever, septicemia and pneumonia. The death of Muppets creator Jim Henson was a result of an infection with Streptococcus pyogenes.

Penicillin is still the drug of choice for treating Streptococcus pyogenes infections. In cases when a person is penicillin allergic, erythromycin is an alternative treatment.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Jeffers family.