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The UK government has urged parents to be alert for signs of a rare, aggressive form of strep A infection, after reports that a 12-year-old London schoolboy was the latest to die after contracting it.
Cabinet minister, Nadeem Zahavi, said that although most cases of strep A are mild, parents should watch out for symptoms.
“It’s really important to be vigilant because in very rare circumstances when it becomes severe it needs immediate treatment,” he told Sky News’ Sophie Ridge on Sunday. “In most cases it will be a mild case of strep but it is very contagious, which is why I think such an important message this morning is that parents should look out for symptoms, so fever, headache, skin rash.”
It was reported on Saturday that eight pupils aged 12-12 at a south London school had died after developing the infection, bringing the total number of deaths from the infection to seven.
On Friday, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that six children under the age of 10 had died from strep A infections since September, as it issued a rare warning after a surge in cases across the country.
Other confirmed deaths of children after contracting a rare aggressive form of the infection include four-year-old Muhammad Ibrahim Ali, from Buckinghamshire, who died in an ambulance while being taken to hospital.
His mother, Shabana Kausar, told Sky News that her son first developed a red rash on his lower back, which was helped by a course of antibiotics, but two weeks later his condition worsened and he developed stomach pains. After his death, an autopsy revealed that he had Strep A in his blood.
“I believe parents should be aware of the symptoms and act on it if their child is experiencing something similar,” she said.
Four-year-old Camilla Rose Burns has been on a ventilator at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool since Monday after contracting strep A.
Strep A bacteria can cause many health problems, most of which are mild. These may include scarlet fever and, very rarely, invasive group A streptococcal disease (iGAS).
The latest data from the UKHSA shows that rates of scarlet fever and iGAS are two to three times higher than the same time in the pandemic a year ago, and cases are coming earlier in the year.
In the week of November 14-20, 851 cases of scarlet fever were reported, compared to an average of 186 for the same period in previous years.
The UKHSA said there was no evidence of new strains of Strep A circulating and that the increase was largely due to increased circulating bacteria and social mixing.
Oxford GP Dr. Helen Salisbury said every death was a tragedy, but the situation was not new. “Sadly, there have always been cases of invasive group A streptococcus. I think four children died in 2019,” she said. “It’s always there [but] It’s bad sometimes.”
Salisbury said it was inevitable that the number of parents bringing their children to GPs would increase as a result of concerns about strep A, and that there were challenges for GPs to identify which children might go on to develop invasive infections.
“From a parent’s point of view, it must be really scary. How do you know if this sore is just normal or garden sore, or is this a prelude to something really serious? And I think it’s hard for parents and to some extent for GPs as well,” she said.
“Even if you have all the time in the world and you’re not pressed or rushed, it’s hard to tell which child is going to get sick.”
She said parents should look for symptoms that indicate an invasive infection is developing, such as a persistent rise in temperature, lethargy or floppiness, not eating or drinking as usual and lack of urination.
Salisbury also stressed that parents should be able to return to their GP if the child’s condition worsens. She worries that it doesn’t always happen.
“I know there are places where they’re really short of GPs and it’s really hard to get an appointment,” she said. “We’re long-term under-doctors in general practice, and when something drastic comes out in the news like this, it really makes that clear.”
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