Category Archives: Strep A

Cases of flesh-eating invasive strep A bacteria surge in Australian children

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Medical journal reports alarming rise in cases over two years with some patients experiencing toxic shock, amputation and flesh-eating, necrotising disease

It took just two days for one-year-old Jordan Sutherland to go from experiencing clinginess and a slight temperature to being in intensive care after surgery to remove flesh-eating bacteria from his neck, which had “swollen from ear to ear”, his mother recalls.

Jordan would not leave the Royal Children’s hospital in Melbourne for almost five weeks, after an infection with the common strep A bacteria developed into a disease known as “invasive strep A”.

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Stay at home if you’re unwell, say experts, as flu and Covid cases rise in England

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‘Don’t mingle’ advice comes as UK Health Security Agency says scarlet fever and strep A infections continue to rise

Flu and Covid are on the rise in England, with experts stressing the importance of vaccination and warning that people who feel unwell should stay at home rather than mingling with others during the festive season.

The figures come as cases of scarlet fever and strep A infections continue to rise.

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Strep A: No 10 tells parents to look for signs of infection with reports of eighth death

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Warning comes as health official says earlier start to cases in UK could be knock-on effect of pandemic

Downing Street has told parents to be on the lookout for signs of strep A infection after reports a primary-school pupil has become the eighth child to die in a matter of weeks.

On Monday, Alison Syred-Paul, headteacher at Morelands primary in Waterlooville, Hampshire, said: “Very tragically, we have learned of the death in recent days of a child who attended our school, who was also diagnosed with an invasive Group A streptococcal (iGAS) infection.”

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Strep A: parents told to be vigilant after seventh child in UK reported to have died

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Nadhim Zahawi says parents should look out for symptoms of infection, such as fever, headache or skin rash

The UK government has urged parents to be vigilant for signs of a rare invasive form of strep A infection, after it was reported that a 12-year-old schoolboy from London was the latest person to have died after contracting it.

Nadhim Zahawi, a cabinet minister, said that although most cases of strep A were mild, parents should be mindful of the symptoms.

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