CDC Streptococcus Laboratory

About the Streptococcus Lab

The CDC Streptococcus Laboratory has been in operation since 1949. We provide laboratory support for U.S. active population based surveillance for invasive streptococcal disease for an overall population base of more than 30 million people, primary groups A and B streptococci, S. pneumoniae (See the Active Bacterial Core surveillance (ABCs) website.) For decades the CDC strep lab has provided extensive invasive and non-invasive surveillance based support for streptococcal vaccine development and evaluation. We are very active in post-licensure pneumococcal vaccine surveillance and reference activities. Our national streptococcal laboratory surveillance data play a critical role in continuing efforts to combat streptococcal pathogens. Our laboratory data, together with these ABCs streptococcal isolates, serves as a valuable resource for outside researchers.

70,000X magnification electron micrograph of an ultra-thin section of Streptococcus pyogenes, contributed by Dr. Vincent A. Fischetti, Rockefeller University

Also see the group B streptococcal website.

The laboratory serves health departments throughout the U.S. in the characterization of streptococcal isolates for outbreak support and other public health concerns, and is also very active internationally. The lab is a well-recognized reference center for identification and characterization of streptococci and other Gram positive catalase negative cocci.

Beside our surveillance and reference activities, we are actively involved with specialized streptococcal research projects that have direct public health relevance, with numerous collaborators in academia and industry.

General Information

• Investigating clusters of GAS disease
• Rockefeller University's Laboratory of Bacterial Pathogenesis and Immunology which contains information concerning group A streptococci and Dr. Lancefield's strains.
• Nizet Lab : for more information concerning GAS and other hemolytic streptococci
• Multilocus sequencing-based clone databases for GAS, pneumococci, and other pathogens.
• eMLSA site for typing and speciating viridans streptococci
• The Emerging Infections Program/Active Bacterial Core Surveillance (ABCs) web site. Many of the GAS isolates we type are ABCs sterile site isolates from surveillance in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, New York, and Tennessee. These isolates represent all sterile site isolates from a population base that is currently over 30,000,000 people. Also described here is ABCs invasive pneumococcal and group B streptococcal surveillance.
• Pneumococcal Molecular Epidemiology network