Key Points

• Since the end of 2024, the number of outpatient visits and emergency room visits for scarlet fever has returned to levels observed during seasons prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Data from the Epibac network confirmed a sharp increase in the number of invasive Group A Streptococcus (IGAS) infections during 2022–2023. In 2024, the incidence rate of GAS-related invasive infections in mainland France decreased to 4.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, but remains higher than the rate recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic. This decline was observed among both adults and children.

• In 2024, the severity of GAS infections appears to have decreased compared to 2022 and 2023, with a decline in the frequency of streptococcal shock syndrome (SSS) as well as in the number of electronic death certificates citing a GAS infection.

• The number of puerperal infections reported via e-SIN also decreased during 2024 and the first half of 2025.

• CNR data show a significant decrease in the number of strains of the emerging M1UK genotype in 2024 and early 2025.