The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has indicated that serious cases of Strep A continue to rise across the UK.
Current levels of invasive group A strep (iGAS) infections in children have slowed on a weekly basis, however, there has still been a slight increase in recent weeks, according to the government. The UKHSA said infection from Strep A remains rare and is mainly affecting children.
However, there has been an increase in older adult age groups with the majority affecting those over the age of 45 and those over 65 in particular. Meanwhile, scarlet fever infections, which is caused by the bacteria, remain high but are now in line with levels seen at the previous high season in 2017 to 2018.
Dr Derren Ready, Incident Director, UKHSA, said: "Although the number of scarlet fever notifications we are seeing each week has significantly fallen since the peak in December, the bacteria that cause the infection are still circulating at high levels for this time of the year. Please contact NHS 111 or your GP if you suspect you or your child have scarlet fever – with symptoms such as fever, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, and a sandpapery rash.
"Early treatment of scarlet fever with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of a more serious infection and transmission to others. After starting antibiotics, children should be excused from school or nursery, and adults should be excused from work for the first 24 hours."
What Strep A symptoms to look out for
According to the NHS, the most common symptoms of Strep A include the following:
- Flu-like symptoms - including high temperature, swollen glands, or an aching body
- Sore throat - otherwise known as strep throat or tonsillitis
- A rash that feels rough similar to sandpaper - often referred to as scarlet fever
- Scabs and sores
- Pain and swelling
- Severe muscle aches
- Nausea and vomiting
It's important to note that most Strep A infections are not serious and can be treated with a course of antibiotics.
So far this season (from 12 September to 12 February), there have been 44,478 notifications of scarlet fever. In the last comparable high season of 2017 to 2018 (September to August), there were 30,768 scarlet fever notifications overall across the year.
Invasive group A strep (iGAS) infections remain rare but are currently higher than expected in a typical year. So far this season, there have been:
- 2,081 iGAS cases across all age groups, compared to 2,967 across the whole of the last comparably high season in 2017 to 2018
- 233 iGAS cases in children aged 1 to 4 compared to 194 cases in the 2017 to 2018 season
- 156 cases in children aged 5 to 9 years, compared to 117 during the 2017 to 2018 season
Sadly, so far this season, there have been 262 deaths across all age groups in England. This figure includes 32 children under 18 in England. In the 2017 to 2018 season (September to August), there were 354 deaths in total across the season, including 27 deaths among children under 18.
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