There has been a rise in the number of cases of Strep A across the UK with some children sadly dying after catching the virus. Health bodies, including Public Health Wales, have reminded parents that cases of invasive group A streptococcal infection remain rare and that children have a very low risk of contracting the disease despite the rise in cases.
The symptoms of the contagious infection include a fever, a sore throat and severe muscle aches. Some people can have the bacteria present in their body without feeling unwell or showing any symptoms of infections and while they can pass it on, the risk of spread is much greater when a person is unwell. The virus spreads through close contact.
Nine children in the UK are known to have died with Strep A in recent weeks. One child has been named as Hanna Roap, a seven-year-old pupil at Victoria Primary School in Penarth. Her father said the family are "traumatised" and "devastated" by her death just 24 hours after becoming ill with the bacterial infection and coming home from school with a mild cough.
