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London
CNN
–
Health officials in the United Kingdom are advising parents and schools to watch for strep A infections following the recent deaths of six children.
With Covid-19 restrictions such as masking and social distancing in the UK, infections such as strep A are spreading more easily, with cases increasing in the past month.
Also known as group A streptococcus (GAS), strep can cause a range of symptoms from minor to severe but is not life-threatening for most people infected.
Strep is a bacterium found in the throat and on the skin. It usually causes fever and a sore throat, and many people carry it without any symptoms. However, they can still spread it to others through coughing, sneezing and close contact.
Symptoms of infection include pain when swallowing, fever, skin rash, and swollen tonsils and glands.Infections are common in crowded places such as schools and daycare centers, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says on its website.
“(The infection) is quite harmless,” Beat Kampmann, professor of pediatric infection and immunity and director of the Vaccine Center at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said in a statement Friday.
“(But) in very rare circumstances when the bacterium produces toxins it can get into the bloodstream and cause really serious illness” such as sepsis, heart inflammation and toxic shock with organ failure, she said.
She advised parents to seek medical advice immediately if a child appears “very ill” with symptoms such as fever, vomiting, muscle aches or a rash.
Invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS) is the term used when the bacteria invades the body, overcomes its natural defenses to enter areas such as the blood, and is more dangerous, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) explains on its website.
While there is no vaccine to prevent strep A or iGAS infections, antibiotics are usually effective in treating them.
“We are seeing a higher than normal number of cases of Group A strep this year,” UKHSA deputy director Colin Brown said in a statement on Friday.
The increase in iGAS this year has been particularly noticeable among children under 10, UKHSA added. Five children have died in England. One death has been reported in Wales, according to Public Health Wales.
Data from the UKHSA showed there were 2.3 cases per 100,000 children aged 1 to 4 between mid-September and mid-November, compared with an average of 0.5 in the pre-epidemic season (2017 to 2019).
For children aged 5 to 9 years, there were 1.1 cases per 100,000, compared with a pre-epidemic average of 0.3.
The last period of high infection was between 2017 and 2018, in which four children under the age of 10 died in the same period, the statement added.
The UKHSA said it did not believe new strains were circulating, with increased infections likely to be the result of “bacteria and social mixing”.
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