There has been an out-of-season increase
Sixty people have now died after contracting Strep A in England this winter, health chiefs have confirmed. Of these 13 are children, according to new figures issued by the UK Health Security Agency .
"So far this season there have been 6,601 notifications of scarlet fever. This compares to a total of 2,538 at the same point in the year during the last comparably high season in 2017 to 2018." So far this season, there have been 85 iGAS cases in children aged one to four compared to 194 cases in that age group across the whole of the last comparably high season in 2017 to 2018. There have been 60 cases in children aged five to nine compared to 117 across the whole of the last comparably high season in 2017 to 2018. The majority of cases continue to be in those over 45.
It added: "Currently, there is no evidence that a new strain of GAS is circulating or any increase in antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics are the best treatment and work well against the circulating strains. "Very rarely, the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause more serious illness called invasive group A Strep. We know that this is concerning for parents, but I want to stress that while we are seeing an increase in cases in children, this remains very uncommon.
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