Five more children in England have now died from an invasive form of Strep A, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed.
The latest figures released by the UKHSA on Thursday (December 22), show that 21 children under 18 have now died with invasive Group A Strep (iGAS) infections in England since September, up from 16 children this time last week, December 15.
There have now been 94 deaths across all age groups from such infections in England. The figures continue to show an out of season increase in scarlet fever and group A streptococcus infections and a higher number of cases than seen in a typical year.
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Since September 12, there have been 94 Invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS) in England - including 21 children under 18, with 126 cases in children aged one to four, and 88 cases in children aged 5 to 9 years. However, the UKHSA has stressed iGAS deaths remain rare and the majority of cases continue to be in those over 45 years.
Meanwhile, there have also been 27,486 notifications of scarlet fever. This compares to a total of 3,287 at the same point in the year during the last comparably high season in 2017 to 2018 – although cases in that season started to rise at a different point.
In 2017 to 2018, there were 30,768 scarlet fever notifications overall across the year. There were 194 iGAS cases in children aged one to four across the whole year and 117 cases in those aged five to nine. During that same period, there were 355 deaths, including 27 deaths in children under 18.
Dr Colin Brown, deputy director of the UKHSA, said: "I understand how this large rise in scarlet fever and ‘strep throat’ may be concerning to parents, however the condition can be easily treated with antibiotics and it is very rare that a child will go on to become more seriously ill. At this time of year, there are lots of winter illnesses circulating that can make children unwell and I would urge all those eligible for free winter vaccines to take advantage of these.
"Most winter illnesses can be managed at home and NHS.UK has information to help parents look after children with mild illness. NHS services are under huge pressure this winter, but please visit NHS.UK, contact 111 online or your GP surgery if your child has symptoms of scarlet fever or ‘strep throat’ so they can be assessed for treatment."
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