The number of children who died doubled within days due to invasive group A streptococcal infection.
The British Health Agency (UKHSA) reported at least 15 deaths among children under the age of 15 due to strep A infection. The number of deaths doubled in the space of a week.
This bacterium usually causes a mild infection, reminds the UKHSA, which can be easily treated with antibiotics. However, “on very rare occasions”, the bacteria can enter the bloodstream and then cause the disease called group A streptococcus. England has recorded 659 cases since the start of the epidemic, the highest level ever reached in five years.
The British health agency explains that good hand and respiratory hygiene is important to protect against disease. Washing your hands properly with soap for 20 seconds, using a tissue when sneezing or staying away from others if you feel unwell are among the recommendations to avoid contamination.
No vaccine
According to the Pasteur Institute, the mortality rate of invasive streptococcal infections 1 is estimated at around 10%, all pathologies combined, which seriously worries the authorities and English families.
There is currently no vaccine against streptococcal A infections. “There is great diversity (genotypic and phenotypic) within the species, greatly complicating the development of a vaccine covering all the strains responsible of infection”, details the Institut Pasteur.
What is the situation in France?
As of Tuesday, December 6, 2022, there was in the country “a higher number of pediatric cases of invasive group A streptococcal infections than usual”, in the past two weeks, reports Public Health France.
The infections mainly concerned children under the age of 10 in the Occitanie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions. Reinforced surveillance has been put in place, its protocol will soon be detailed on the Public Health France website.