The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is issuing advice and urging parents to be vigilant following a rise in scarlet fever and Strep A cases.
Latest data from UKHSA show that scarlet fever cases continue to remain higher than would typically be seen at this time of year. There were 851 cases reported in week 46, compared to an average of 186 for the preceding years.
In the South East there have been 637 cases of scarlet fever and 80 cases of Strep A (iGAS) in weeks 37 to 46. Nationally there have been six deaths in children reported from Strep A.
Scarlet fever is usually a mild illness, but it is highly infectious. Symptoms include a sore throat, headache, and fever, along with a fine, pinkish or red body rash with a sandpapery feel.
On darker skin the rash can be skin-coloured and more difficult to detect visually but will have a sandpapery feel. Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you suspect your child has scarlet fever, because early treatment of scarlet fever with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of complications such as pneumonia or a bloodstream infection. If your child has scarlet fever, keep them at home until at least 24 hours after the start of antibiotic treatment to avoid spreading the infection to others.
Scarlet fever is caused by bacteria called group A streptococci. These bacteria also cause other respiratory and skin infections such as Strep throat and impetigo.
In very rare occasions, the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause an illness called invasive Group A strep. Whilst still uncommon, there has been an increase in invasive Group A strep cases this year, particularly in children under 10.
Investigations are also underway following reports of an increase in lower respiratory tract Group A Strep infections in children over the past few weeks, which have caused severe illness.
Currently, there is no evidence that a new strain is circulating. The increase is most likely related to high amounts of circulating bacteria and social mixing
There are lots of viruses that cause sore throats, colds and coughs circulating. However, children can on occasion develop a bacterial infection on top of a virus and that can make them more unwell.
As a parent, if you feel that your child seems seriously unwell, you should trust your own judgement. Contact NHS 111 if or your GP if:
your child is getting worse
your child is feeding or eating much less than normal
your child has had a dry nappy for 12 hours or more or shows other signs of dehydration
your baby is under 3 months and has a temperature of 38C, or is older than 3 months and has a temperature of 39C or higher
your baby feels hotter than usual when you touch their back or chest, or feels sweaty
your child is very tired or irritable
Call 999 or go to A&E if:
your child is having difficulty breathing – you may notice grunting noises or their tummy sucking under their ribs
there are pauses when your child breathes
your child’s skin, tongue or lips are blue
your child is floppy and will not wake up or stay awake
Good hand and respiratory hygiene are important for stopping the spread of many bugs. By teaching your child how to wash their hands properly with soap 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.
Trish Mannes, regional deputy director for UKHSA South East, said: “We are seeing a higher number of cases of Group A strep this year than usual. The bacteria usually causes a mild infection producing sore throats or scarlet fever that can be easily treated with antibiotics. In very rare circumstances, this bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause serious illness – called invasive Group A strep (iGAS).
“This is still uncommon however it is important that parents are on the lookout for symptoms and see a doctor as quickly as possible so that their child can be treated and we can stop the infection becoming serious. Make sure you talk to a health professional if your child is showing signs of deteriorating after a bout of scarlet fever, a sore throat, or a respiratory infection.”
Most adults don’t even wash their hands themselves-lost count of the times I have seen people in public & office toilets who don’t wash their hands.
More brain control!
Fear for control’s sake.
Be afraid. Be very afraid!
It’s as if Orwell and Huxley had never even learned to write.🙄
You’re nuts.
😂😂😂
Children are lacking natural immunity for many diseases, all thanks to lockdowns!
But they’re alive, not dead, nor suffering from long covid.
How many otherwise healthy children died of Covid? Instead, they have reduced immune systems, less physical fitness, and a poorer education that could make a difference to their whole lives.
Between 2020 and 2021, in the UK, 15 children under 14 died of covid. Without lockdoens, that number would have been orders of magnitude higher. They wouldn’t have had any sort of life to enjoy education or physical fitness or anything else.
In a “normal” year, fewer than half a dozen children die of A Strep. This year, it’s slightly more.
But there’sno doubt whatsoever that over all, without lockdown, excess deaths would have been vastly higher.
Yet you don’t condone the compulsory vaccination of migrants for diphtheria and TB…
Lies, damned lies & statistics.
Since March 2020 the Office for National Statistics has completely changed the way it records and presents all kinds of mortality rates.
Making meaningful comparisons with previous years practically impossible.
For the families of 15 children COVID 19 has brought bereavement and unhappiness. I understand that and my heart goes out to them.
I know several people who experienced the effects of Myalgic Encephalitis during the 1990’s. Both children and adults. Its effects appear very similar to those of “Long Covid”.
Every loss and every incapacity is a cause for sadness. It is not cause to put on blinkers and put our fingers in our ears though. This denial of death can only lead to misery and madness. There is no Right to Life, that demands that the healthy limit their behaviour to prevent vulnerable others from everyday biological events. There is certainly the right to not be killed or deliberately harmed, but this is another thing entirely.
Lockdowns are ineffective lunacy.
Injecting oneself with mRNA about which nobody knows much is lunacy.
Destroying whole economies and communities is madness.
Those who support such things and berate others for not supporting iratrocratic dictats by technocrats with ties to totalitarian communist China are acting as agents, witting or unwitting, of those who would destroy our entire culture & value system.
Please stop it?
Sit down quietly and remember how things were a few years ago.
Come to your senses.
How many children died from acquired respiratory illnesses, with or without pre-existing conditions, in 1999?
Indeed Harry. Lockdowns and the experimental jab caused more destruction and carnage than covid19 – immune systems ruined from both of these, fear control propaganda messages resulting in unprecedented mental health crises, ruination of many businesses and now this strange sudden death syndrome across the world.