Leeds scarlet fever cases as city has second highest…

Leeds scarlet fever cases as city has second highest number of infections in the country

Leeds has recorded more scarlet fever infections than any other local authority in the country.

In the week ending December 4, 22 cases were reported in Leeds out of 63 cases in the whole of Yorkshire. This is an increase compared to government data from the week before which showed 46 infections, with 11 of those in Leeds.

Meanwhile, Isle of Wight has the highest at a unitary authority level with 32 cases and numbers more than quadrupling in just two weeks. Similarly, the overall total of scarlet fever cases reported in England and Wales has increased over the last week with 1,130 infections recorded compared to 860 the week before.

Scarlet fever is usually a mild illness that mostly affects young children, however it is highly infectious. Symptoms include a high temperature, sore throat, headache, fatigue along with a fine, pinkish or red body rash with a sandpapery feel.

The infection is caused by bacteria called group A streptococci which can also cause other respiratory and skin infections such as strep throat and impetigo. Very rarely, the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause an illness called invasive Group A strep (iGAS).

While still uncommon, there has been an increase in invasive Group A strep cases this year, particularly in children under 10.

Locations of the invasive group A streptococcal disease cases in the past week are:

Bromley, outer London - 1
Hillingdon, outer London - 1
Hounslow, outer London - 1
Lewes, East Sussex - 1
Newport - 1
Plymouth - 1
Rochdale, Greater Manchester - 1
South Holland, Lincolnshire - 1
Stafford, Staffordshire - 1
Wiltshire - 1

Below is a breakdown of the number of scarlet fever cases in each region for the week ending December 4, with a more specific breakdown for the Yorkshire cases: