Beta-hemolytic streptococci cause milder infections than alpha-hemolytic streptococci.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. Cannot be determined
• D. Both equally severe

Answer: (A)

Hemolysis pattern on blood agar helps classify streptococci, but it doesn’t predict how severe an infection will be. Beta-hemolytic streptococci, especially group A Streptococcus, can cause very serious invasive diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, and rheumatic fever. Alpha-hemolytic streptococci include organisms like Streptococcus pneumoniae and viridans streptococci, which can cause severe infections too, but many alpha-hemolytic infections are less dramatic or more localized. The level of virulence depends on the specific strain and its virulence factors, the infection site, and the host’s immune status, not on whether the hemolysis is beta or alpha. So the statement is not correct.