Mum's Strep A warning as son, 5, bravely fights deadly infection in hospital bed

Little George Higham battles Strep A in hospital in a heart-wrenching snap shared by his mum as a warning.

The five-year-old’s mother Jenna is urging parents to get their child to A&E if they think they might have the deadly infection.

Jenna, 24, claims her GP misdiagnosed her son’s symptoms as thrush. But she was sure he needed hospital treatment and phoned 111.

George was diagnosed with the same Group A Strep infection – known as iGAS – which has killed six kids since September.

Recalling last August’s drama at Grimsby Children’s Hospital, Jenna said: “It was such a frightening time.

Jenna Higham's son George was in agony as he was treated for Strep A (Contributor)

Muhammad Ibrahim Ali tragically died from Strep A (Just Giving)

“He developed a heart murmur because he was so ill and he was screaming in agony from the pains in his legs. They couldn’t get a drip in him because he was thrashing about so much, so he was given intramuscular antibiotics.”

George made a full recovery. But Jenna, from Sutton on Sea, Lincs, said: “His screams will always haunt me. I am just so thankful he made it through.

Hanna Roap, 7, tragically died after contracting Strep A (gofundme.com)

Symptoms include if the child is very tired or irritable, difficulty breathing, grunting noises, tummy sucking in under the ribs, pauses in breathing, blue skin, tongue or lips, being floppy or will not wake up or stay awake (PA)

“I was in tears when I heard about the children who didn’t make it. If George had passed away, I can’t think about it, it really upsets me.”

Among the children to die was Muhammad Ibrahim Ali, four, from High Wycombe, Bucks, who died in the back of an ambulance. Hanna Roap, 7, tragically died after contracting Strep A.

Health chiefs say rates are up to five times higher than before Covid and fear the rise may be due to lower child immunity due to lockdowns.

This weekend mum Laura Rooney - whose daughter Farrah "doesn't even look like herself anymore" due to Strep A - has also urged parents to be vigilant for signs of the deadly disease

Now she hopes her family's struggle can help warn others.

She said: "She was having fever-like symptoms, persistent coughs and a sore throat.

"She's just been so consistently unwell from it, we are on our fifth antibiotic from September and she's on steroids now as well.

"She has missed out on so much with school and the nursery and having to stay indoors, it has affected every part of our lives."

Locations of the cases in the past week are...

• Croydon, London - 1
• Ealing, London - 1
• Knowsley, Merseyside - 1
• North Somerset - 1
• Oldham, Greater Manchester - 1
• Redcar and Cleveland - 1
• Rushmoor, Hampshire - 1
• The Vale of Glamorgan - 1

Strep A patient Camila Burns is on a ventilator in hospital in Liverpool (Sky News)

Dad Dean Burns says he is praying for a miracle (Sky News)

Here is a breakdown of the number of cases in each region...

England and Wales total - 861

North East total - 34

• Tyne and Wear - 8
• County Durham - 10
• Middlesbrough - 6
• Northumberland - 5
• Redcar and Cleveland - 5

North West total - 137

• Cumbria - 16
• Greater Manchester - 27
• Lancashire - 27
• Merseyside - 32
• Blackburn with Darwen - 4
• Blackpool - 3
• Cheshire East - 12
• Cheshire West and Chester - 8
• Halton - 8
• Warrington - 5

Yorkshire and the Humber total - 46

• South Yorkshire - 4
• West Yorkshire - 25
• North Yorkshire - 8
• Kingston upon Hull - 1
• North East Lincolnshire - 2
• North Lincolnshire - 2
• York - 4

East Midlands total - 124

• Derbyshire - 24
• Leicestershire - 22
• Lincolnshire - 16
• Northamptonshire - 17
• Nottinghamshire - 20
• Derby - 2
• Leicester - 16
• Nottingham - 6
• Rutland - 1

West Midlands total - 48

• West Midlands - 15
• Staffordshire - 8
• Warwickshire - 12
• Worcestershire - 6
• County of Herefordshire - 5
• Stoke-on-Trent - 2

East of England total - 128

• Cambridgeshire - 14
• Essex - 15
• Norfolk - 22
• Hertfordshire - 33
• Suffolk - 19
• Bedford - 3
• Central Bedfordshire - 5
• Luton - 2
• Milton Keynes - 8
• Peterborough - 3
• Thurrock - 4

London total - 103

• Inner London - 44
• Outer London - 59

South East total - 134

• Buckinghamshire - 5
• East Sussex - 7
• Hampshire - 25
• Kent - 9
• Oxfordshire - 11
• Surrey - 20
• West Sussex - 10
• Bracknell Forest - 1
• Isle of Wight - 22
• Newbury - 1
• Portsmouth - 5
• Reading - 1
• Slough - 4
• Southampton - 1
• West Berkshire - 2

South West total - 5

• Devon - 1
• Gloucestershire - 2
• Somerset - 1
• Bournemouth - 1

Wales total - 101

Call 999 or go to hospital if you see these Strep A signs

Your child eating much less than normal, a dry nappy for 12 hours or more and other signs of dehydration. If babies under three months have a temperature of 38C (or 39C if older) medics should be alerted.

Other red flags include if the child is very tired or irritable, difficulty breathing, grunting noises, tummy sucking in under the ribs, pauses in breathing, blue skin, tongue or lips, being floppy or will not wake up or stay awake.