What are the treatments for streptococcal infections?
Penicillin and other antibiotics are used to treat strep infections. It takes less than 24 hours for antibiotics to eliminate an infected person’s ability to transmit GAS. Guidelines developed by the American Academy of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AAOG), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend administering intravenous antibiotics to a woman at high risk of passing GBS infection on to her child, and offering the medication to any pregnant woman who wants it. Initiating antibiotic therapy at least four hours before birth allows medication to become concentrated enough to protect the baby during passage through the birth canal. Babies infected with GBS during or shortly after birth may die. Those who survive often require lengthy hospital stays and develop vision or hearing loss and other permanent disabilities. Source: The Gale Group. Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed.
