How to avoid Strep A and is it contagious?

Fifteen children are confirmed to have died from Strep A in recent weeks, and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed there has been an increase in infections.

The latest confirmed fatality was a pupil who attended a primary school in Belfast who died on Monday after being diagnosed with Strep A. A statement from Black Mountain Primary School said the schoolgirl developed a severe illness last week and was treated at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, where she had been in intensive care.

While the vast majority of infections are relatively mild, sometimes the bacteria causes a life-threatening illness called invasive Group A Streptococcal disease, as with the Belfast case.

Group A streptococcus (GAS) is a common bacteria. Indeed, lots of us carry it in our throats and on our skin and it doesn’t always result in illness, according to the UKHSA. However, GAS does cause a number of infections, some mild and some more serious.

The most serious infections linked to GAS come from invasive group A strep, known as iGAS. Health officials explain these infections are caused by the bacteria getting into parts of the body where it is not normally found, such as the lungs or bloodstream. In rare cases an iGAS infection can be fatal.

Though still relatively uncommon, there has been an increase in iGAS cases and deaths this year, particularly in children under 10.

The UKHSA says GAS is spread by close contact with an infected person and can be passed on through coughs and sneezes or from a wound.

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.

Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday morning, Dr Colin Brown, deputy director of the UKHSA, suggested that a lack of mixing due to the Covid pandemic, with changes to mixing and susceptibility in children, were probably “bringing forward the normal scarlet fever season” from spring to this side of Christmas.

He explained that the UK was witnessing “a larger number of infections, for example, causing scarlet fever, than we would normally see this time of year.”

In a bid to reassure parents, Dr Brown said told the broadcaster that “the information we have available at the moment is that there is no change” in the circulating strains of Strep A bacteria that is making them more severe.

“There isn’t something that is particularly new or novel about the bacteria that are causing the infections that we’re seeing at the moment,” he said.

“We are seeing a larger number of infections, for example, causing scarlet fever, than we would normally see this time of year.”

To slow the spread of infection and best protect children, the UKSHA advises maintaining good hand and respiratory hygeine.

“By teaching your child how to wash their hands properly with soap and warm water for 20 seconds, using a tissue to catch coughs and sneezes, and keeping away from others when feeling unwell, they will be able to reduce the risk of picking up, or spreading, infections,” its wesbite reads.