A sixth child has died within days of being diagnosed with a potentially deadly infection which is sweeping across the UK. The death was announced by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as it issued an update on Strep A and scarlet fever.
Strep A is usually a harmless bacterial infection however it can cause other health conditions which are more serious. One of these is scarlet fever which can kill in the most severe cases.
According to the UKHSA latest data shows that scarlet fever cases were remaining higher than they would usually be at this time of the year. There were 851 cases reported in week 46 (week ending Nov 20) compared with an average of 186 for the preceding years.
