Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — UK health officials are advising parents and schools to monitor sepsis for group A (Strep A) infection, following the recent deaths of 6 children.
And with restrictions related to COVID-19, such as wearing face masks and social distancing, being lifted in the UK, infections like Strep A are spreading more easily, with an increase in the number of cases over the past month.
Strep A can cause a range of symptoms, from mild to severe, but is not fatal in most cases.
It does not always cause symptoms
and Strep A, a bacterium found in the throat and on the skin. They usually cause fever and sore throats, and many people carry 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 its website that the symptoms of this infection include pain when swallowing, fever, skin rash, swollen tonsils and glands, and it spreads in crowded places such as schools and day care centers.
“[Infections]tend to be fairly 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 Friday.
“(But) in very rare cases when bacteria produce a toxin that may enter the bloodstream and cause really serious illness” such as sepsis, heart inflammation, and toxic shock with organ failure, she added.
She advised parents to seek medical advice immediately if the child seemed “very ill” and had symptoms such as fever, vomiting, muscle aches or a 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 the blood, which are more dangerous.
Although there is no vaccine to prevent infection with streptococcus group A (Strep A) or invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS A), antibiotics are usually effective in treating it.
“We’re seeing more cases of group A strep this year than usual,” Colin Brown, deputy director at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said in a statement Friday.
The agency added that an increase in the prevalence of invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS) this year was noted, 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.
Data from the UKHSA shows there were 2.3 cases per 100,000 children aged 1-4 years between mid-September and mid-November, compared with an average rate of 0.5 in pre-pandemic (2017 to 2019).
For children ages 5 to 9, there were 1.1 cases per 100,000, compared to a pre-pandemic average of 0.3.
The statement added that the last stage that witnessed an increase in the number of injuries was between 2017 and 2018, when four children under the age of ten died during the same period.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it did not believe a new strain was circulating, with the increase in infections likely being caused by “bacterial spread and social contact”.
