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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Neil Hyde & Ryan Merrifield

Two more confirmed cases of deadly bacterial infection in pupils after girl, 6, dies

Two more cases of the deadly bacteria infection which killed a six-year-old girl have been confirmed in a neighbouring primary school.

An unnamed pupil at Ashford Church of England Primary School died and another was taken to hospital following an outbreak of Strep A last week.

The UK Health Security Agency has now been notified of cases of Strep A in Year 1 and Year 6 at nearby Echelford School - while a third pupil has closely-related condition Scarlet Fever.

The health body had offered pupils and staff antibiotics following the death in Ashford, where the child died after contracting the bug.

A letter is understood to have been sent to all parents of kids at Echelford, informing them they had switched off drinking water fountains and were monitoring pupils carefully, according to the BBC.

One parent said: "Parents are of course getting very concerned about this outbreak, especially as a child died last week.

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A six-year-old girl died at Ashford Church of England Primary School (BPM)

"It is every parent's worst nightmare We are being told to keep sending our kids into school, but it feels incredibly risky given there are now at least four cases in the local area at two different schools.

"Will our children be safe? It feels like it is a really serious situation. The schools and health authorities are trying to play it all down but behind the scenes there must be huge concern about this."

Senior staff at Echelford reportedly said they had been advised that children should continue to attend school as normal and parents/carers should not be overly alarmed.

They assured they would continue to review and increase their focus on hygiene throughout the school and were increasing hand hygiene and cleaning of key areas.

Pupils have also been warned about respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette - Catch It, Bin It, Kill It.

They have been told to bring labelled water bottles, with fountains shut off.

Parents were also given a fact sheet giving information about what symptoms to look out for at home.

A spokesman for the UK Health Security Agency said in response to the latest confirmed cases: "As part of our public health response to last week's tragic news, we issued some general information about the signs and symptoms of scarlet fever, which is not uncommon, to schools in the vicinity of Ashford Primary.

"A number of other illnesses typically circulate at this time of year and parents, school and nursery staff are advised to be aware of the symptoms, to keep up with vaccinations and to seek advice from NHS 111 if they have concerns."

Parents have been assured that they don't need to panic (stock image) (Getty Images/Science Photo Library)

The bacteria - sometimes known as Strep Throat - usually causes a sore throat or skin rash and is passed by physical contact or through droplets from sneezing or coughing.

In very rare cases, the infection can become invasive and enter parts of the body where bacteria aren't normally found, which can be serious.

In response to the child's death in Ashford, Dr Claire Winslade, health protection consultant at UKHSA South East, said: "We are extremely saddened to hear about the death of a pupil at Ashford Church of England School, and our thoughts are with their family, friends and the school community.

"As a precautionary measure, we have recommended antibiotics to pupils and staff in the same year groups as the individuals affected. We have provided advice to the school to help prevent further cases and will continue to monitor the situation.

"Information has been shared with parents about the signs and symptoms of iGAS, which include high fever with severe muscle aches, pain in one area of the body, and unexplained vomiting or diarrhoea. Anyone with these symptoms should call NHS111 immediately."

"Infection with Group A Streptococcus bacterium usually causes a sore throat or skin rash and is passed by physical contact or through droplets from sneezing or coughing. In very rare cases, the infection can become invasive and enter parts of the body where bacteria aren't normally found, which can be serious."

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