Increase in bloodstream infections caused by emm1 group A Streptococcus correlates with emergence of toxigenic M1UK, Belgium, May 2022 to August 2023

Many European countries have recently reported upsurges in invasive group A Streptococcus (iGAS) infections, mainly caused by emm1 Streptococcus pyogenes, specifically the toxigenic M1UK lineage. We present the epidemiology of emm1 causing iGAS in Belgium during 2018–August 2023, and describe an emergence of the toxigenic M1UK lineage in Belgium in mid-2022 that was observed as an increase in bloodstream infections caused by emm1 S. pyogenes that continued into 2023.

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