The Public Health Authority in Great Britain has recently urged parents to be aware of symptoms of strep. This after several children died in a short time as a result of the infection.
On Friday, another child died in Sussex in the south of England after being infected with the bacteria. It is the latest and 16th death in the country, reports Sky News.
More are expected to become seriously ill
British media have previously reported on children who fell victim to the deadly disease. At the same time, the infection is spreading in Great Britain, reports Sky News.
– I suspect that if we get a large number of infections caused by streptococci, we will get a larger number who become seriously ill. But this not a normal season for this, it is out of balance, said the head of the UK Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH), Jim McManusearlier this week The Guardian.
A life-threatening condition
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) can cause several infections, including strep throat, swine pox and scarlet fever. In some cases, people can suffer from sepsis and “streptococcal toxic shock syndrome” (STSS). This is a life-threatening condition for the body’s vital organs.
– In very rare cases, the infection can become invasive and enter parts of the body where bacteria are not normally found, which can be dangerous, says Rachael Hornigold at the British Public Health Agency to Sky News.
The situation may be due to the pandemic
Now the authorities in the country have issued information to all practicing doctors in the country about having a “low threshold” for prescribing antibiotics to children with symptoms of Streptococcus group A.
According to the Public Health Agency, GAS infections are spread via direct contact from person to person, via objects or as droplet infection. The incubation period is between one and three days.
British doctors believe that the drastic increase in the disease may be due to children’s immune systems being weaker as they have been spared from infectious diseases due to the country’s previous pandemic restrictions.