Invasive Bacterial Infections
Annual Summary of Reportable Diseases

• In 2023, the number of GAS infections reached a 20-year high nationally. This is consistent with Minnesota’s data with 625 GAS cases reported in 2023 compared with 310 cases in 2022. Minnesota also saw an increase in group A strep transmission in long-term care facilities.  
• There were 574 cases of GBS, among these there were 47 deaths. By age group, annual GBS incidence was highest among infants less than one year of age and cases aged ≥70 years.
• There was one H. flu type b (Hib) case in an unvaccinated child.
• Two sporadic cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), a severe illness caused by N. meningitidis, were investigated.  
• There were 541 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), a severe illness caused by S. pneumoniae; among these cases were 57 deaths. By age group, annual incidence was highest among adults ≥ 65 years of age. 

Surveillance for five pathogens, Group A Streptococcus (GAS), Group B Streptococcus (GBS), Haemophilus influenzae (H. Flu), and Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) comprises Active Bacterial Core surveillance (ABCs), a core component of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Emerging Infections Program. ABCs is a laboratory and population-based CDC-funded surveillance network made up of 10 sites across the United States, including Minnesota. ABCs data allows for tracking, characterizing, and analyzing disease burden and trends; identifying changes in antimicrobial resistance and other pathogen-specific characteristics; evaluating vaccine effectiveness; and providing data to inform public health policy.  

ABCs relies on partnerships with healthcare providers, laboratorians, and infection preventionists to report case information and submit bacterial isolates. Some notable contributions from ABCs data include documenting the decline of pneumococcal disease due to pediatric pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, contributing to the recommendation for universal screening of pregnant people for GBS infection, and informing the prevention of household transmission due to invasive GAS infections.