What exactly is "class C" strep throat?

that's what the dr. said I have.. what is the difference between the classes??

What exactly is "class C" strep throat?
Woow, I guess asking here on Answers is already a crime...no wonder people get so many damn points in this place just answering "grow up" to people.





While it is true that "researching it yourself" is a good option, not everyone has the time nor resources to do that, so asking is ok, and you should not worry about asking.





With respect to your question, I can only give you the "bare minimum" regarding Streptococcus "classes", since they are more covered on a medical bacteriology and/or microbiology courses. Technically, "classes" are used in a different sense when dealing with Streptococcus organisms, because such are actually classified in "groups", i.e. "Group A". What those groups actually represent are the types of polysaccharide molecules attached to the cell-surfaces of Streptococcus organisms.





In your case, your doctor says that you have a Group C "strep throat" (which I prefer to be called pharyngitis--"strep throat" sounds slang), meaning that the Streptococcus bacterium diagnostically, or serologically to be more specific, identified in your throat specimen has a C-polysaccharide. As what your nurse has listed above, there are a number of polysaccharide (or carbohydrates or sugar molecules) groups identified; and depending on the organism, a particular Streptococcus bacterium could be classified as A, B, C, or D (there is an E group if I'm not mistaken).





Examples of each could be A = S. agalactiae, B = S. pyogenes (the common bacterium that causes pharyngitis) C = Group C Streptococcus D = Enterococcus faecalis.





There are others, of course, that are included in this list. But the clinical significance of "grouping" Streptococcus organisms is for the reason of identifying the cause of a particular strep infection, such as that in your case. The main difference between the groups is the composition of polysaccharides or sugars appearing in chains. This is actually a broad classification, but it works well in identifying them serologically, giving an accurate diagnosis for strep infections.





Hope this helps!





By the way, even though the Groups are different and each organism in a Group causes different diseases, there are "disease overlaps" between the groups...meaning a particular disease can actually be caused by more than one Streptococcus organism.
Reply:The Streptococci bacteria are classified into groups. Group A, B, C and D. It's too time consuming for me to list the differences. Suffice it to say, the different groups cause different illness. Got a couple of minutes? Research them for yourself.