Parents have been advised that a nasal spray vaccine that protects children against flu may also help to protect them against strep A infections. The UK Health Security Agency reports that rates of strep A were lower in areas where the vaccine was offered to all primary-age children when it was first being used.
The BBC reports that there are currently unusually high rates of Group A strep infections in the UK, which includes scarlet fever and strep throat. Most are mild and easily treated, often with antibiotics, but the infection can cause serious problems when it becomes invasive.
There have been 18 confirmed deaths of children in the UK with this form of the infection since September - the highest since the winter of 2017-18. The UKHSA study of data from 2013-17, which is not yet peer-reviewed, found that rates of strep infections were lower in areas where the flu vaccine was piloted, with 73.5 per 100,000 children aged two to four years old, compared to areas where it was not offered as widely with 93 per 100,000 children.
There was no difference in the number of children reported to have scarlet fever or invasive group A strep, the analysis said. Parents of any primary school age children who have missed out on the nasal spray flu vaccine can still get it by contacting their GP surgery, school or local vaccination clinic.
The vaccine is free on the NHS for children aged two or three years old on 31 August 2022, all primary school children, some secondary school-aged children and children aged two to 17 years with long-term health conditions. This winter, the vaccine is also being offered to the youngest secondary school-aged children.
Dr Jamie Lopez Bernal, from UKHSA, said: "Children who catch influenza are at greater risk from subsequent infections, including group A strep, so these findings provide yet more reasons for parents of eligible children to bring them forward for the flu vaccine."
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