Greater Manchester health leaders are 'waiting to make sure we’ve got effective supplies and the availability of antibiotics' as Strep A illnesses climb in the region. Scarlet fever, caused by the group Strep A bacteria, is expected to 'peak shortly' in Greater Manchester, according to a public health director.
Strep A bacteria can cause many different infections, ranging from minor illnesses to serious and deadly diseases. The bacteria are commonly found in the throat and on the skin, and some people have no symptoms - but the most severe form has seen multiple children die across the UK from complications of Strep A.
Infections caused by the bacteria include the skin infection impetigo, scarlet fever and strep throat. Scarlet fever in particular has seen a recent surge in cases. While the vast majority of infections are relatively mild and can be treated with antibiotics, sometimes the bacteria cause a life-threatening illness called invasive Group A Streptococcal disease.
READ MORE: Mum's warning signs to look out for after son's Strep A was mistaken for tonsillitis
Manchester’s Director of Public Health David Regan told the M.E.N. that the region, which is experiencing some cases of Strep A and Strep A-related illnesses, has ‘tried and tested plans for managing outbreaks in care homes and schools, learned during Covid, and done annually with influenza’.
Demand for penicillin and amoxicillin has increased as the number of cases of strep A has risen among children in schools. At least 15 children across the UK have died due to complications from the infection since September.
Preventative antibiotics could be given to children at schools affected by Strep A infections, the schools minister has confirmed in recent days. Nick Gibb said the issue was raised in the House of Lords on Monday and the use of antibiotics is an option.
Updated guidance on scarlet fever outbreaks, which are caused by Strep A, published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in October sets out how antibiotics can be used as prophylaxis. But a decision is taken with local outbreak control teams (OCTs) on “a case-by-case basis”.
It added: “It can be considered in exceptional circumstances by the OCT; for example, when there are reports of severe outcomes, or hospitalisations.”
“Plans are underway to make sure we have the supplies of antibiotics in the right place. Whether it’s for an outbreak within a school or in primary care," he told the Manchester Evening News during an interview live on our Facebook page. "Our medicines management teams, our pharmacists and our primary care colleagues, linked to the UKHSA, are waiting to make sure we’ve got effective supplies and the availability of antibiotics to make sure that we have them for any situation that might arise.
“We do have great mutual aid across Greater Manchester so we always work collaboratively across different areas to make sure we can respond quickly. We do often have to do a lot of very intense planning as situations move very quickly.
“We’re working on that as we speak.”
The assurances come as nationally, there have been reports that independent pharmacies are facing a shortage of the medications as wholesalers complain of lacking availability. The Guardian has reported Leyla Hannbeck, the chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, saying pharmacists across the country were reporting that they could not restock many types of antibiotics and were dealing with angry customers who she said had been misled.
“The government can say what they want but we are on the frontline and we know what’s happening,” she said. “I want to make it very clear the frustration among healthcare professionals because we don’t want to let our patients down, we have people coming in, parents, we just need to have better planning. Our hands are very tied, the government has to act now.”
“We are seeing a higher number of cases from Strep A this year compared to usual”, but “there are no current shortages of drugs”, the Prime Minister meanwhile told MPs in PMQs this week.
Rishi Sunak said: “We are seeing a higher number of cases from Strep A this year compared to usual. What I can say is that the NHS who have sat down to talk about this are working very hard to make sure parents are aware of the symptoms that they should be looking out to (for) because this can be treated appropriately with antibiotics.
“There are no current shortages of drugs available to treat this and there are well-established procedures in place to ensure that that remains the case and the (UKHSA) are monitoring the situation at pace and what they have confirmed is that this is not a new strain of Strep A, so people should be reassured about that.
“There is no reason to believe that it has become more lethal and more resistant to antibiotics, so the most important thing for parents to do is look out for the symptoms and get the treatment that is available for them.”
“We would expect [scarlet fever] infections to peak shortly, so we will keep a close eye on the data and track that with the UKHSA," Mr Regan told the Manchester Evening News during an interview live on our Facebook page.
“We will deal with outbreaks in settings on an individual basis as the next few weeks progress. I’ll report on the Manchester figures but we can extrapolate those for the rest of Greater Manchester. We receive information of statutory notifiable disease, these are reported cases. The total for the year to date for scarlet fever is 350.
“Of those, 32 have been reported in the last four weeks. We expect that number to increase in the next week."
If there are two or more linked cases at a school, for example, staff notify health protection teams, David shared. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will assess the situation, and the outbreak management team will decide the plan with school and local authority.
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