Invasive Group A Streptococcus Associated with Wisdom Teeth Extraction Among United States Coast Guard Recruits — New Jersey, 2026
- Presentation Day/Time: Friday, April 24, 3:30 PM
- Presenter: Ryan Snead, PhD, MPH, New Jersey Department of Health
The Issue
- On January 29, 2026, 10 United States Coast Guard (USCG) recruits in New Jersey had wisdom teeth extracted at an off-base dental clinic. Within two days, eight developed symptoms such as fever, cervicofacial cellulitis, and abscess, six were hospitalized, and one was mechanically ventilated with invasive group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection.
What We Did
- USCG alerted the New Jersey Department of Health, which initiated an investigation to identify the source and prevent further disease. Infection prevention and control (IPC) practices were observed during an unannounced clinic visit. All five clinical staff and 20 recruits from the same company who did not visit the clinic were screened for GAS and cultured to identify a potential infection source.
What We Found
- During January 31–February 12, one invasive and four non-invasive symptomatic cases were identified (four recruits from the 1/29 clinic visit, plus one unrelated recruit). Screening detected asymptomatic GAS infection among three recruits and one clinic staff member. All positive recruits had the same strain. The clinic staff member had a different strain from the recruits and was not considered part of the outbreak transmission. Recommendations to mitigate IPC lapses at the clinic were provided; however, no additional cases associated with the clinic have been detected.
What This Means
- These findings highlight possible risk of severe postoperative manifestations from GAS infection before surgery.
