The chair of the Royal College of GPs in Wales has said doctors and health officials "don't really know" where the Strep A outbreak sweeping the UK will go. Dr Rowena Christmas, who is also a GP in Monmouthshire, added that GPs will have a "lower threshold" for prescribing antibiotics and sending children to hospital over the next few weeks.
Her comments come after seven children have died in recent months after contracting the invasive bacterial infection - six of those being children aged under 13 in England, and seven-year-old Hanna Roap in Wales, who was a pupil at Victoria Primary School in Penarth.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales on Monday morning, Dr Christmas said: "All of us GPs and children's doctors and doctors in emergency departments have been sent an alert this morning from the UK Health Security Agency. It's really important we notify public health if we suspect a case.
"All of us are usually cautious about antibiotics, trying not to prescribe too many because of resistance, but I think at the moment all of us will be dropping our thresholds and prescribing a lot more antibiotics over the next few weeks."
Read more: Strep A: What are the symptoms, how dangerous is it and what illnesses does it cause
She continued: "I'm going to have a lower threshold for both prescribing antibiotics and for sending children I'm worried about into hospital at the moment, just because we don't really know where this is going to go. This is a common infection that we usually see, but this year there does seem to be we have a lot more of them.
"We had a similar thing back in 2015, 2016 - that winter - and that settled reasonably quickly after a few weeks, so hopefully this is what will happen this year. But I know my colleagues in public health are keeping a very close eye on just where this goes from here."
Dr Christmas told the Claire Summers' breakfast programme that it was a "worrying" time for parents, as it can be difficult to distinguish a viral seasonal cold with the more serious bacterial Strep A infection. Referring to the fact Hanna Roap's father believes his daughter could have survived if she had been giving antibiotics, she said: "It's so difficult...so many children have coughs and snotty noses at the moment and most of them will have viral infections that won't respond to antibiotics."
She explained that Strep A infection is "really common", living in the noses and throats of a quarter of children all the time. But this year there has been more cases of Strep A - and, as a result, more children have contracted an invasive form of the disease which can enter their bloodstreams and cause serious illness.
Going through the typical symptoms of the infection, Dr Christmas said parents should look out for their children developing a sore throat and fever. After about 12 to 48 hours, there will be a rash, which starts as "blotchy scarlet spots" on their stomachs and chests and spreads out onto their arms, legs and faces, resembling sunburn.
She said the rash can be harder to spot on darker skin, but it has a "sandpapery feel" which can help to spot it. Other symptoms include headaches, tiredness, nausea, vomiting, a "strawberry tongue" and flushed face. But the GP said it's much more concerning if the fever persists or is very high, or if children aren't eating or drinking well, or if they are having difficulty breathing, breathing more quickly or are lethargic - all these symptoms need medical attention.
She urged parents not to dismiss their concern and go back to the GP if they have been sent away if they feel something isn't right. "If you've got any doubts at all, I think it's important you get in touch with your GP," she said, adding: "You know your child...If you're worried, please come back".
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