Child aged 12 dies of invasive strep A in London

A 12-year-old child, who was a pupil astatine Colfe's School successful Lee, London, has died from Strep A bacterial infection.

Deaths similar this are rare, but six different UK children person besides mislaid their lives successful caller weeks.

Reports accidental determination are 8 cases successful Scotland, but nary deaths. It is not known whether determination are immoderate ongoing cases successful Wales and Northern Ireland.

Headmaster of Colfe's School Richard Russell said: "This wholly unexpected calamity has affected each members of the schoolhouse community, including pupils, parents and staff. We are doing what we tin to enactment the pupil's household who are seeking to travel to presumption with their devastating loss."

Health experts accidental parents and doctors request to beryllium vigilant and person a debased barroom for treating the contagious illness that is circulating earlier than accustomed this year.

The UK should expect galore much cases of Strep A implicit the coming weeks.

Most Strep A infections are mild and get amended with antibiotics. But immoderate radical who drawback it tin get precise sick.

Four-year-old Camila Rose Burns is critically sick and connected a ventilator successful infirmary due to the fact that of a terrible Strep A infection, known arsenic invasive radical A Strep (iGAS).

Her father, Dean Burns, from Liverpool, told the BBC's Today programme: "She is inactive warring for her life. She is truly poorly, it is conscionable devastating to america arsenic a family. We can't judge this has happened.

"It progressed to thing called invasive radical A Strep, which has present gone into her bloodstream and has devastated her body.

"I'm astatine a nonaccomplishment with it all, I conscionable privation our household back. The symptom is unimaginable. She is conscionable truthful beauteous and precious. She is conscionable our peculiar small girl."

The UK Health Security Agency's (UKHSA) main aesculapian adviser, Dr Susan Hopkins, said: "We are concerned, and acrophobic capable to guarantee that we wanted to marque the nationalist alert of the signs and symptoms that they should ticker retired for and of people to alert clinicians to prescribe antibiotics for these conditions."

She says an aboriginal commencement to the Strep A infections play successful the UK could beryllium a broadside effect of the easing of pandemic restrictions.

"We are backmost to mean societal mixing and the patterns of diseases that we are seeing astatine the infinitesimal are retired of sync with the mean seasons, arsenic radical premix backmost to mean and determination astir and walk infections on."

Strep A tin origin a scope of illnesses. Most cases are mild - a sore pharynx oregon a tegument corruption that tin beryllium easy treated with antibiotics.

Some radical make scarlet fever, which causes a tegument rash (that feels similar sandpaper) and flu-like symptoms, including a precocious temperature.

Very rarely, Strep A tin origin thing called invasive radical A streptococcal corruption oregon iGAS, which tin beryllium deadly.

Invasive illness happens erstwhile the bacteria get past your body's immune defences.

Warning signs of invasive illness include:

Urgent, aboriginal aesculapian assistance is essential.

The UKHSA advises that anyone with a precocious fever, terrible musculus aches, symptom successful 1 country of the assemblage and unexplained vomiting oregon diarrhoea should telephone NHS 111 and question aesculapian assistance immediately.

Strep A tin beryllium treated with antibiotics.

Prof Jim McManus, existent president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said the UK should expect much cases: "It is simply a relation of numbers. There are galore much cases of radical A Strep around, and due to the fact that determination are galore much cases, the fig of terrible cases volition rise.

"We had 4 deaths successful 2017-18," helium added, comparing that fig to this year's total.

"It is simply a lawsuit for existent vigilance. We look to person forgotten that Strep A is around, truthful we person to deliberation Strep A erstwhile children contiguous with symptoms that could beryllium Strep A. In immoderate cases possibly we had thought this had gone distant due to the fact that we had been reasoning astir different infections."

As a parent, if you consciousness that your kid seems earnestly unwell, you should spot your ain judgement. Contact NHS 111 oregon your GP if:

Call 999 oregon spell to A&E if: