FOOD-BORNE AND AIR-BORNE STREPTOCOCCAL PHARYNGITIS - A CLINICAL COMPARISON

Different vehicles of transmission of the same pathogen may induce dif ferent clinical manifestations of the disease. The hypothesis was test ed that the clinical manifestation of food-borne streptococcal pharyng itis is different hom air-borne streptococcal pharyngitis. The symptom s and signs of 77 patients with endemic air-borne streptococcal pharyn gitis compared to 103 patients with epidemic food-borne streptococcal pharyngitis (T type 8/25/imp19, M protein negative) and 11 patients wi th secondary air-borne epidemic streptococcal pharyngitis (T type 8/25 /imp19, M protein negative) were prospectively evaluated. The patients with food-borne streptococcal pharyngitis had a significantly higher frequency of sore throat, fever, pharyngeal erythema, tonsillar enlarg ement and submandibular lymphadenopathy and a lower frequency of coryz a and cough compared to the patients,vith endemic air-borne streptococ cal pharyngitis. Although both food-borne and airborne streptococcal i nfection caused upper respiratory tract infection, the clinical manife station of food-borne streptococcal pharyngitis was more severe and mo re confined to the pharynx compared to the endemic air-borne disease, Involvement of the nasal mucosa and bronchial tree was more common in air-borne streptococcal pharyngitis than in the food-borne disease.