A five-year-old girl has died after contracting Strep A - taking the total number of fatalities to nine.
The youngster became severely ill last week and was being treated at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, the Mirror reports. Parents of P1 to P3 pupils at Black Mountain Primary School were sent a letter by the Public Health Agency.
The letter said a child had been diagnosed with a severe form of the bacterial infection. Pupils were told the attend a clinic or see their GP to receive antibiotics.
READ MORE: Eight children now feared to have died from Strep A as school confirms 'devastating' loss
The girl's death takes the number of children known to have died from the illness to nine. Yesterday, it was announced that another child has passed away after being diagnosed with an invasive Group A Streptococcal (iGAS) infection.
They attended Morelands Primary School in Waterlooville, Hampshire. The school said the loss had left pupils and family 'devastated'.
It comes after the deaths of Muhammad Ibrahim Ali, 4, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and Hanna Roap, 7, in Penarth, Wales. A 12-year-old student from Lewisham, London has also died, their school confirmed, while a six-year-old died in Ashford, Surrey in late November.
The UKHSA said that in the week ending November 20, there were 851 cases of Strep A reported. Those figures are compared to an average of 186 in preceding years - an increase of 357.5pc.
A rare alert warning parents of the signs to look for was issued by the agency. Anyone who believes their child is suffering with the illness is advised to contact NHS 111 or their GP immediately.
The symptoms include a sore throat, headache, and fever, along with a 'fine, pinkish or red body rash with a sandpapery feel'. On darker skin, the rash can be more difficult to detect visually but will have a sandpapery feel.
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