Health Library

Streptococcal screen

Rapid strep test

A streptococcal screen is a test to detect group A streptococcus. This type of bacteria is the most common cause of strep throat.

Images

I Would Like to Learn About:

How the Test is Performed

The test requires a throat swab. The swab is tested to identify group A streptococcus. It takes about 7 minutes to get the results.

How to Prepare for the Test

There is no special preparation. Tell your health care provider if you are taking antibiotics or have recently taken them.

How the Test will Feel

The back of your throat will be swabbed in the area of your tonsils. This may make you gag.

Why the Test is Performed

Your provider may recommend this test if you have signs of strep throat, which include:

• Fever
• Sore throat
• Tender and swollen glands at the front of your neck
• White or yellow spots on your tonsils

Normal Results

A negative strep screen most often means group A streptococcus is not present. It is unlikely that you have strep throat.

If your provider still thinks that you may have strep throat, a throat culture may be done, though mainly in children and adolescents.

What Abnormal Results Mean

A positive strep screen most often means group A streptococcus is present and confirms that you have strep throat.

Sometimes, the test may be positive even if you do not have strep. This is called a false-positive result.

Risks

There are no risks.

Considerations

This test screens for the group A streptococcus bacteria only. It will not detect other causes of sore throat.

Related Information

References

Bryant AE, Stevens DL. Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Streptococcus). In: Blaser MJ, Cohen JI, Holland SM, et al, eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2026:chap 202.

Gigante J. Acute pharyngitis. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 430.

Stevens DL, Bryant AE, Hagman MM. Nonpneumococcal streptococcal infections and rheumatic fever. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 269.

Review Date: 3/1/2026  

Reviewed By: Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, New York, NY. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, for Health Content Provider (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language.

© 1997- 2026 A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

All content on this site including text, images, graphics, audio, video, data, metadata, and compilations is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may view the content for personal, noncommercial use. Any other use requires prior written consent from Ebix. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, publish, reverse-engineer, adapt, modify, store beyond ordinary browser caching, index, mine, scrape, or create derivative works from this content. You may not use automated tools to access or extract content, including to create embeddings, vectors, datasets, or indexes for retrieval systems. Use of any content for training, fine-tuning, calibrating, testing, evaluating, or improving AI systems of any kind is prohibited without express written consent. This includes large language models, machine learning models, neural networks, generative systems, retrieval-augmented systems, and any software that ingests content to produce outputs. Any unauthorized use of the content including AI-related use is a violation of our rights and may result in legal action, damages, and statutory penalties to the fullest extent permitted by law. Ebix reserves the right to enforce its rights through legal, technological, and contractual measures.