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Abstract

Check4Strep: A Community-Based Pilot Project to Understand and Respond to Infection with Group A Streptococcus †

by
Olivia Walsh
1,*,
Vicki Wade
1,
Rachel Burgess
2,
Valerina Mungatopi
1,
Patrick Grant
1,
Segora Babui
1,
Ella Meumann
1,
Bianca Middleton
1,
Mark Davies
3,
Asha Bowen
4,5,6,
Rosemary Wyber
4 and
Anna Ralph
1
1
Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Tiwi, Darwin 0810, Australia
2
END RHD, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth 6009, Australia
3
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia
4
Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Disease, The Kids Research Institute, Perth 6009, Australia
5
School of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, Australia
6
Department of Infectious Diseases, Perth Children’s Hospital, Perth 6009, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the 22nd Lancefield International Symposium on Streptococci and Streptococcal Diseases, Brisbane, Australia, 1–5 June 2025.
Proceedings 2025, 124(1), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025124023
Published: 26 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of The 22nd Lancefield International Symposium on Streptococci and Streptococcal Diseases (LISSSD 2025))
Versions Notes

Background: ‘Check4Strep’ is a community-based, participatory action research (PAR) pilot study in a remote northern territory community. Aim: Its purpose is to co-design methods for studying Strep A burden and transmission that are acceptable and beneficial to community members. A better understanding of Strep A transmission pathways could inform treatment and primordial and primary ARF prevention through public health advice.
Methods: Activities are conducted according to the ‘Plan–Act–Observe–Reflect’ (PAR) cycle. Up to 80 individuals will be enrolled during community swabbing days, with detection of ~10 positive Strep A samples anticipated. Participants will be invited to consent for swabs of the throat, purulent/crusted skin lesion (if present), palmar surface, nasal discharge (if present), and clothing. Swabs will be dispatched for culture and, if Strep A-positive, genomic sequencing; duplicate swabs will be collected from throats for point-of-care testing (Abbott ID NOW S. pyogenes). To infer transmissibility from the throat, cough samples will be obtained using an agar plate held 20 cm from the mouth, plus an air sampler (Coriolis Micro Air Sampler, Bertin Technologies, Paris, France) at 250 L/min. Community researchers will complete demographic and social network surveys and co-facilitate knowledge sharing around Strep A transmission.
Results: Outcomes from implementing the initial PAR cycle will be presented, including consultation with community members and organisations, the employment of community-based researchers, and two-way information sharing about Strep A, including traditional remedies, the design and testing of community sample collection activities, and preliminary microbiology results.
Conclusions: ‘Check4Strep’ will demonstrate Strep A recovery rates from different sample types and achieve effective knowledge sharing and two-way capacity building to form the basis of a longitudinal study.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A.R. and R.W.; methodology, A.R., R.W., R.B., V.W., O.W., A.B., E.M., M.D., V.M., P.G., S.B. and B.M.; resources, A.B. and R.B.; writing—original draft preparation, O.W. and A.R.; writing—review and editing, V.W., R.B., B.M., A.B. and E.M.; project administration, O.W.; funding acquisition, R.B., A.B., M.D., V.W., A.R., R.W. and O.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by the STARFISH NHMRC Synergy Grant, GNT 201076. Contents of any published material are solely the responsibility of the participating centres or individual authors and do not reflect the views of the NHMRC.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the NT Health and Menzies School of Health Research Ethics Committee (HREC 24-4909, approved 6 September 2024).

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The data used for analysis in this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author, subject to approval from the STARFISH Indigenous Governance Council and Check4Strep Investigators.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Walsh, O.; Wade, V.; Burgess, R.; Mungatopi, V.; Grant, P.; Babui, S.; Meumann, E.; Middleton, B.; Davies, M.; Bowen, A.; et al. Check4Strep: A Community-Based Pilot Project to Understand and Respond to Infection with Group A Streptococcus. Proceedings 2025, 124, 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025124023

AMA Style

Walsh O, Wade V, Burgess R, Mungatopi V, Grant P, Babui S, Meumann E, Middleton B, Davies M, Bowen A, et al. Check4Strep: A Community-Based Pilot Project to Understand and Respond to Infection with Group A Streptococcus. Proceedings. 2025; 124(1):23. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025124023

Chicago/Turabian Style

Walsh, Olivia, Vicki Wade, Rachel Burgess, Valerina Mungatopi, Patrick Grant, Segora Babui, Ella Meumann, Bianca Middleton, Mark Davies, Asha Bowen, and et al. 2025. "Check4Strep: A Community-Based Pilot Project to Understand and Respond to Infection with Group A Streptococcus" Proceedings 124, no. 1: 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025124023

APA Style

Walsh, O., Wade, V., Burgess, R., Mungatopi, V., Grant, P., Babui, S., Meumann, E., Middleton, B., Davies, M., Bowen, A., Wyber, R., & Ralph, A. (2025). Check4Strep: A Community-Based Pilot Project to Understand and Respond to Infection with Group A Streptococcus. Proceedings, 124(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025124023

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