Health officials this cold-and-flu season have warned about an increase in Streptococcus A infections, but there is no quick way for many B.C. doctors and parents to diagnose the dangerous bacteria.
Jacinda Clark nearly lost her daughter last month to strep after a four-day wait for cultures to return from the laboratory led to streptococcal meningitis.
Clark believes her daughter’s brush with death could have been avoided had a rapid strep test be used.
"If you have strep and you wait days to grow a culture, the strep is going to spread into different parts," Clark said.
Rapid tests for strep exist, but they are hard to find in B.C.
Back in 2018, a province-wide pilot project of rapid strep tests was introduced at Shoppers Drug Marts that was popular among patients. The program allowed patients to learn in 15 minutes whether they had strep throat.
However, the Shoppers Drug Mart on Bernard Avenue in Kelowna says they no longer carry the tests. An employee at the store said some other Shoppers stores may still offer the service, but many don’t.
Juniper Pharmacy on Pandosy Street also does not carry the rapid test.
“There have been some pilot projects in Canada looking at these rapid tests getting pharmacies involved in them,” said pharmacy owner Craig Plaim.
“I don't know where it is now. We don't see them widely used in pharmacies around here now.”
In November, a West Kelowna child died after strep was misdiagnosed as simple influenza. In that case, it took two days for the strep culture to return with a positive result and antibiotics to be started.
The provincial government’s website says a strep culture typically takes one to two days to return with results. But there is now a massive shortage of laboratory technologists across B.C.
The Ministry of Health confirmed the spotty access to rapid strep tests across the province.
“In B.C., rapid tests for streptococcal bacteria are provided as a benefit, at no charge to the patient, provided the location is accredited by the diagnostic accreditation program, such as public hospitals as well as some urgent and primary care centres or other medical clinics."
“Some pharmacies may offer this test as a service, but it is not available as a publicly funded benefit through pharmacies at this time.”
Clark, meanwhile, doesn’t understand why they are not more available.
"They should be available. Rather than me chasing down doctors to diagnose my daughter and waiting on cultures for days I think they should be more readily available."
Strep A infections have been surging in recent years across North America, but experts are not sure why.
The most recent data from the BCCDC shows the rate of infection in the Interior Health region to be 9.4 per 100,000 in 2019, up from 1.5 per 100,000 in 2010.
Interior Health refused comment on this story
