A five-year-old from Belfast is the most recent youngster to pass away from a Strep A infection; deaths have also been reported in Hampshire, London, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, and Penarth, Wales.
At least nine children have died from a Strep A infection in the United Kingdom, and health officials have also reported an increase in cases of scarlet fever.
Strep A infections are typically minor and readily treated with antibiotics, but an invasive variant of the bacteria known as iGAS has surged this year, particularly in children under 10 years old.
A five-year-old girl in Belfast is the most recent kid to pass away from the infection, which has already claimed the lives of children in Hampshire, London, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, and Penarth, Wales.
The UK Health Security Agency said that 851 cases of scarlet fever infections were reported during the week of November 14 to 20, compared to an average of 186 for the same period in prior years (UKHSA).
Click or search the map below to determine the number of scarlet fever cases in your location, based on the most recent statistics available to the public.
The region with the highest incidence of scarlet fever has been identified.
Scarlet fever, an infection caused by Strep A, primarily affects young children and responds well to antibiotic treatment.
Symptoms include a sore throat, headache, fever, and a “sandpaper-like” pinkish or red rash on the body.
According to data supplied by the UKHSA on November 27, a total of 861 cases have been documented in England and Wales.
There were 101 cases reported in Wales, with 14 in Bridgend and 11 in Cardiff.
The North West of England had the largest number of instances in England, with 137, including 32 in Merseyside, 27 in Lancashire, and 27 in Greater Manchester.
There were a total of 134 cases in the South East and 128 cases in the East of England.
In addition, there were:
• 124 in the East Midlands; 103 in London; 46 in Yorkshire and the Humber; and 48 in the West Midlands.
• Five instances in the South West, with no cases reported in Dorset and one each in Somerset and Devon.
A total of 9,772 cases of scarlet fever were reported in England and Wales in the twenty weeks preceding November 27.
This is contrasted to 1,255 instances during the same period in 2021 and 530 cases in 2022, even though both years would have been affected by the epidemic, as youngsters interacted less.
As of November 27th, 2022, there have been a total of 21,717 documented instances of scarlet fever.
Areas where Strep A is invasive
iGAS – or invasive Group A Streptococcus Strep – can be a life-threatening infection in which the germs have infected the blood, deep muscle, or lungs.
According to UKHSA data, there were eight confirmed cases in England and Wales for the week ending November 27.
These incidents occurred in Croydon, south London; Ealing, west London; Knowsley, Merseyside; North Somerset; Oldham, Greater Manchester; Redcar and Cleveland; Rushmoor, Hampshire; and the Vale of Glamorgan.
Before the confirmation of the death of a kid in Belfast, it was disclosed that a primary school student in Waterlooville, Hampshire, had died from a Strep A infection.
A student in the eighth grade at a secondary school in southeast London, Muhammad Ibrahim Ali, 4, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and a toddler from Ealing, west London are among the known victims.
A student at a primary school in the vicinity of Cardiff has also died from the infection, along with a six-year-old kid who died during an outbreak at Ashford Church of England School in Surrey.
Camila Rose Burns, age 4, has been on a ventilator at the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool since catching Strep A.
