A primary school pupil in Belfast has died after contracting Strep A, the ninth child to die from the bacterial infection.
Black Mountain Primary School confirmed the “tragic loss” of one of its students in a year group for five to six-year-olds.
It came as England’s schools’ minister said preventative antibiotics could be given to children at schools reporting infections of Strep A.
The bacteria usually only causes mild illness, but there has been an increase in cases of serious invasive disease this season.
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The death of the Black Mountain Primary School pupil is believed to be the first Strep A child death in Northern Ireland in the current outbreak, which has seen eight others across the UK die in recent weeks.
Among them was Hanna Roap, a seven-year-old from Wales, and Muhammad Ibrahim Ali, a four-year-old from Buckinghamshire. The parents of four-year-old Camila Rose Burns, who has been fighting invasive Group Strep A disease in hospital, have also shared their agony as their daughter continued to fight for her life.
“Sadly, the governors, staff and students of Black Mountain Primary School have been informed of the death of one of our P2 pupils,” a statement from the Belfast school, shared with The Independent on Tuesday, said.
“This is a tragic loss to the Black Mountain Primary School family and our school community, and the thoughts of the entire school are with the pupil’s family and friends at this difficult time.”
They added: “A letter has been sent by the school to parents, informing them of our tragic loss and providing information on the support services available through school for our children during this incredibly sad time.
“We recognise that this news may cause worry amongst our school community and we want to reassure parents that we continue to work closely with the Public Health Agency at this time.”
Health authorities say Strep A usually causes a mild infection leading to sore throats or scarlet fever which can easily be treated with antibiotics.
However, in rare cases, it can get into the bloodstream and turn into a potentially life-threatening illness called invasive Group A Strep (iGAS) disease.
Early signs and symptoms of the invasive disease include a high fever, severe muscle aches, pain in one area of the body, redness at the site of a wound and vomiting or diarrhoea.
UKHSA says there has been a higher number of iGAS cases than expected this year.
There have been 2.3 cases per 100,000 children aged one to four in England this season, compared to an average of 0.5 in the pre-pandemic years of 2017 to 2019, it said in an update on Friday. For children aged five to nine, the figure was 1.1 compared to 0.3.
Dr Colin Brown from UKHSA said this invasive disease is “still uncommon”. But he said: “It is important that parents are on the lookout for symptoms and see a doctor as quickly as possible so that their child can be treated and we can stop the infection becoming serious.
“Make sure you talk to a health professional if your child is showing signs of deteriorating after a bout of scarlet fever, a sore throat, or a respiratory infection.”
In its latest update on Friday, UKHSA said it had been notified of five deaths in children under 10 with iGAS in England since September. In the latest high season, there were four deaths among this group in the same period in 2017.
UKHSA said there has been a higher number of cases of scarlet fever than expected this year and it remained important cases were “treated prompty with antibiotics” to reduce the risk of complications.
