Six children die with Strep A bacterial infection

Six children have died with an invasive condition caused by Strep A - including five under 10-year-olds in England - the UK Health Security Agency has said.

A girl from Wales has also died. No deaths have been confirmed in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Strep A infections are normally mild but in a small number of cases patients can become seriously ill.

Parents concerned about their child's symptoms should seek medical advice, the UKHSA has advised.

While still uncommon, there has been an increase in invasive Group A strep cases this year, particularly in children under 10.

It has been confirmed that a child, from St John's School in Ealing, west London, died after contracting the infection, as well as a child from Ashford in Surrey.

A four-year-old boy, named as Muhammad Ibrahim Ali, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, died last month.

Primary school pupil Hanna Roap, from Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan also died from the infection.

Infections caused by Group A strep bacteria are usually mild with symptoms like sore throat or skin infections.

The bug can also cause scarlet fever which can, in the majority of cases, be treated with antibiotics.

In a very small number of cases, Group A strep infection can get deeper into the body - for example into the lungs and bloodstream - causing an illness known as invasive Group A Strep. This can be much harder to treat.

Dr Colin Brown, deputy director of the UKHSA, advised parents to be on the lookout for symptoms and "see a doctor as quickly as possible so that their child can be treated and we can stop the infection becoming serious".

He said: "Make sure you talk to a health professional if your child is showing signs of deteriorating after a bout of scarlet fever, a sore throat, or a respiratory infection."

During the last high season for Group A Strep infection, in 2017/18, there were four deaths in children under 10, compared to the five this year in the same time period.

UKHSA figures suggest there were: