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A Simple Sore Throat To Strep, or Not? That is the question. As a physician, this is the most common of all complaints.  I hear this every day from my patients, family and friends. The exact scope of the problem is hard to pin down, but the annual expenditure in the U.S. for this problem is north of a billion dollars a year.  I wrote about this in my book, The Patient's Guide, and shared that there are over 12 million visits per year for this problem.  The cost tally a few years back was $1.2 billion dollars, with an average visit cost between $150-300.  Worldwide, this number is over 10 million cases of strep infections. Incredible As I write this, I had a tough time finding current statistics that were relevant.  No matter that's not why you're here anyway. Note that strep is a type of bacteria and it can cause serious infections of the soft tissue (necrotizing fasciitis and toxic shock).  Fortunately, these are less common than a sore throat. How To Treat A Sore