Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – UK health officials are advising parents and schools to monitor for sepsis for group A infection (Strep A), following the recent deaths of 6 children.
And with COVID-19-related restrictions, such as wearing face masks and social distancing, lifted in the UK, infections like Strep A are spreading more easily, with the number of cases increasing over the past month.
Strep A can cause a range of symptoms, from mild to severe, but is not fatal in most cases.
It doesn’t always cause symptoms
and Strep A, a bacteria found in the throat and on the skin. They usually cause fever and sore throat, and many people get them without noticing any symptoms. However, they can pass it on to others through coughing, sneezing and close contact.
And the US Centers for Disease Control and Control (CDC) reported on their website that the symptoms of this infection include pain when swallowing, fever, rash, swollen tonsils and glands, and it spreads in crowded places like schools and nurseries.
“[Le infezioni]they tend to be quite harmless,” Beth Kampman, professor of pediatric infectious diseases and immunology and director of the Vaccine Center at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said in a statement on Friday.
“(But) in very rare cases when the bacteria produce a toxin that can get into the bloodstream and cause really serious illnesses” such as sepsis, heart inflammation and toxic shock with organ failure, he added.
She advised parents to see a doctor right away if the child looked “very ill” and had symptoms such as fever, vomiting, body aches or rash.
It can be treated with antibiotics
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) states on its website that iGAS A is the term used when bacteria invade the body, overcoming its natural defenses with the aim of entering places such as blood, which are more dangerous.
While there is no vaccine to prevent infection with group A strep (Strep A) or invasive group A strep (iGAS A), antibiotics are usually effective at treating it.
“We are seeing more cases of group A strep this year than usual,” Colin Brown, deputy director of the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) said in a statement on Friday.
The agency added that an increase in the prevalence of invasive group A strep (iGAS) has been noted this year, particularly in children under the age of ten. Five children died in England. One death has been reported in Wales, according to Public Health Wales.
UKHSA data show that there were 2.3 cases per 100,000 children aged 1-4 between mid-September and mid-November, compared with an average rate of 0.5 pre-pandemic (2017 to 2019 ).
For children aged 5 to 9, there were 1.1 cases per 100,000, compared with a pre-pandemic average of 0.3.
The statement added that the latest phase that saw an increase in the number of injuries was between 2017 and 2018, when four children under the age of ten died in the same period.
The UK’s Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) said it did not believe a new strain was circulating, with the increase in infections likely caused by “bacterial spread and social contact”.
