Parents around the country are now questioning if they will send their young children to school with the fear that there will be a Strep A outbreak in the republic.
So far, there have been nine reported deaths due to Strep A in the UK, including five-year-old Stella-Lily McCorkindale from Belfast.
And the heartbreaking news that a four-year-old girl from the greater Dublin area has also died with Strep A-like symptoms has put Irish families on high alert.