Group A Streptococcus Primary Peritonitis in Children, New Zealand

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) primary peritonitis is a rare cause of pediatric acute abdomen (sudden onset of severe abdominal pain); only 26 pediatric cases have been reported in the English language literature since 1980. We discuss 20 additional cases of pediatric pri-mary peritonitis caused by GAS among patients at Star-ship Children's Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand, dur -ing 2010-2022. We compare identified cases of GAS primary peritonitis to cases described in the existing pediatric literature. As rates of rates of invasive GAS in-crease globally, clinicians should be aware of this cause of unexplained pediatric acute abdomen.