SAN DIEGO — The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is now tracking another spike in cases.

An invasive Group A-Strep is infecting more and more kids. This comes as the nation and San Diego track three high level infections, RSV, COVID-19 and the flu.

An RSV outbreak that occurred in November left parents standing in long lines outside of Rady Children’s Hospital. The CDC is now warning of a new contender, Strep A, after two reported child deaths in Colorado.

“People have a sore throat, they see a little bit of redness, see a little puss in the back of their throat and they always get concerned about strep, could this be strep?” Mario Bialostosky, a local pediatrician at Rady Children’s Hospital, shared with FOX 5.

This, all coupled with the recent influx of COVID-19 and influenza cases countywide, leaving parents on edge.

Symptoms for Strep-A include a sore throat, high fever, headaches or a rash.

“We’re pretty mindful of staying healthy, washing hands, always eating healthy and exercising,” said Serra Mesa resident Lina Saba while frequenting her local CVS Pharmacy.

While not life-threatening, pediatricians warn it could lead to other dangerous illnesses for children especially under the age of two, triggering skin or bacterial infections like pneumonia.

“All it takes is a little bit of mucus to create a little bit of merrowing or inflammation that just narrows things down, and so they have trouble breathing and they make weird noises.” 

The CDC noting the rise in Strep-A infections could be a direct result of the rise in respiratory viruses with just about 73% of inpatient beds full at Rady Children’s Hospital as of Dec. 16.

“It could be the fact that many children weren’t exposed to viruses over the past couple of years, that could be particularly an issue for kids that are like two years old,” Dr. Bialostosky said.