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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

Several factors can increase your risk of strep throat infection:

  • Young age. Strep throat occurs most commonly in children between the ages of 5 and 15.
  • Time of year. Although strep throat can occur anytime of the year, it tends to circulate in late fall, winter and early spring. Strep bacteria flourish wherever groups of people are in close contact. That's why the infection spreads easily among family members, in schools and in child care settings.

DS00260

June 26, 2008

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