We don’t know yet what’s behind the spate of strep A deaths, but we can do more to protect children
- Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
With Covid-19 dominating the news for almost three years, it’s easy to forget the other infectious diseases that still cause us problems. Strep A has been making news headlines because eight children have died of it in England and Wales, plus one in Northern Ireland. And in Scotland, 437 children were recorded as having strep A in the past two weeks, putting it on par with the 2017/18 season, albeit much earlier in the winter.
Strep A is a common infection in children and most cases are mild or asymptomatic. But on rare occasions, some cases cause scarlet fever and strep throat and bacteria get into the bloodstream and lungs, causing sepsis. The rising numbers of infections and deaths have understandably caused anxiety among parents. Early signs of strep A can look similar to a range of other infections, and it spreads easily among children via sneezing and coughing, or through touching. This makes it a difficult disease to contain during an indoor mixing and party season, and clinically it is hard to diagnose strep A at an early stage when it is seen in primary care.
Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
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