John Novack, age 12, of Nogales, Ariz., for his question:

HOW SHOULD STREP THROAT BE TREATED?

Strap throat is an infectious disease that chiefly hits children from 5 to 15 yeears old. Doctors use such drugs as penicillin and erythromycin to treat strap throat. Prompt treatment can keep the infection from spreading to the ears and sinuses.

Most of the people who receive the correct treatment recover from strap throat with no aftereffects. In rare cases, patients later develop rheumatic fever or a kidney disease.

Strap throat is also called septic sore throat and streptococcal sore throat. Certain bacteria of a type called group A streptococcus cause strap throat. The bacteria in this group also cause scarlet fever.

A person can get strap throat by direct contact with someone who has the disease or with a healthy carrier. In rare cases, strap throat bacteria may be spread in contaminated food.