Forgotten Bacterium May Be Causing Severe Sore Throat in Young Adults, Study Finds

A new study found that the bacterium F. necrophorum rather than streptococcus may be the cause of severe sore throats in young adults.

The study was conducted by the researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Generally, the bacterium streptococcus is the much better known cause of sore throat. However, the study authors suggest that physicians should consider the bacterium F. necrophorum when treating severe sore throat, known as pharyngitis, in young adults and adolescents that worsens.

“This is the first study in the United States that shows that F. necrophorum causes a significant number of cases of pharyngitis in this young adult population,” said Robert M. Centor, M.D., professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine in the UAB School of Medicine and the study’s lead author, in a press statement. “It is also the first to show that F. necrophorum pharyngitis and streptococcus pharyngitis share similar clinical signs. This study bolsters our understanding that this condition is common in the U.S. and very closely resembles strep throat.”

The study was conducted on 312 college students. The researchers detected F. necrophorum in more than 20 percent of patients with sore-throat symptoms, against only 10 percent for Group A strep and 9 percent for Group C or G strep.

Previous studies have established that F. necrophorum pharyngitis is the leading cause of a rare but potentially very dangerous condition known as the Lemierre’s syndrome. This condition affects adolescents and young adults and is a rare occurrence in pre-adolescents. It can lead to hospitalization with intensive care. About 6 percent of patients suffering from this condition die. Group A strep can also cause a serious disease, rheumatic fever, which remains common in many parts of the developing world, but is now rare in the U.S.

“It is not just about strep throat in this 15-30 age group. Physicians have to consider F. necrophorum, which in our study caused more sore throats than strep. And F. necrophorum is itself associated with a potentially devastating complication, which while rare, is a more common side effect that acute rheumatic fever,” the study author said. “For an infection caused by F. necrophorum, aggressive therapy with antibiotics is appropriate, as the bacterium responds well to penicillin and other antibiotics. We suspect that many physicians would prescribe antibiotics for patients with F. necrophorum pharyngitis if there were a point-of-care diagnostic test that proved its presence.”

The study was funded by UAB and the Justin E. Rodgers Foundation. Findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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