UK parents are on high alert after the child death toll from a contagious bacterial disease rose to 15.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued a rare alert after a rise in cases across the UK, urging parents to be on alert for the disease's symptoms.
Streptococcus A (strep A) is a group of bacteria that can cause many different infections. While the majority of infections are relatively minor the bacteria can cause very serious and deadly diseases.
Diseases caused by Strep A include strep throat, Scarlet fever, impetigo, a flesh-eating disease called necrotising fasciitis, cellulitis, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, rheumatic fever and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis.
Infections tend to cause symptoms such as a sore throat or skin infections and are treated with antibiotics. However, with a small number of cases, strep A can get deeper into the body, for example into the lungs and bloodstream, requiring immediate medical attention.
In the UK, cases usually show the steepest rises in the new year but have increased sharply in recent weeks.
Data from the UK Government shows 13 children under aged 15 have died of Strep A in England since September, 10 of whom were under the age of 10. Northern Ireland and Wales have both recorded one death of a child, taking the UK total up to 15.
There have also been 47 deaths from Strep A in adults in England.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said so far this season (from September 12 to December 4) there have been 6601 notifications of scarlet fever. This compares to a total of 2538 at the same point in the year during the last comparably high season in 2017 to 2018.
"We know that this is concerning for parents, but I want to stress that while we are seeing an increase in cases in children, this remains very uncommon," UKHSA deputy director Dr Colin Brown said in a statement.
UKHSA chief medical advisor Dr Susan Hopkins said the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions which limited social mixing could be to blame for the disease spread as children's immunity is lower to diseases they may not have been exposed to.
"We also have to recognise that the measures that we’ve taken for the last couple of years to reduce Covid circulating will also reduce the other infections circulating, so that means that as things get back to normal these traditional infections that we’ve seen for many years are circulating at great levels," Dr Hopkins told BBC Radio.
UKSHA said currently, there is no evidence that a new strain is circulating or any increase in antibiotic resistance.
Strep A in New Zealand
According to the University of Auckland, New Zealand and Australia are the last high-income countries in the world with significant rheumatic fever, a disease caused by Strep A bacteria.
"There is an ever-growing number of young people and children facing life stunted by the disease. They become unwilling frequent fliers in the health system. The total cost of disease from Strep A is about $59m a year," an Auckland University research paper said.
Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) data estimate 159 premature deaths a year due to rheumatic fever.
Rheumatic fever has long-lasting consequences and between 150 and 200 diagnosed cases are added to list of sufferers each year.
In September, four-year-old Sebby Chua died in the Emergency Department at Wellington Regional Hospital likely from complications from strep A.
