Strep A has killed several British children in recent days. We tell you everything about this bacterium.
It’s a bacterium of concern to UK health officials. Streptococcus A has killed six children under the age of 10 across the English Channel in recent days, BFMTV reports.
On its website, the Pasteur Institute points out that Streptococcus A” is responsible for this many mild infections (Angina pectoris, impetigo), but can also be responsible for itsometimes fatal invasive infections (toxic shock syndrome, necrotizing fasciitis)”.
More infections
This human transmission bacterium has a Mortality rate estimated at 10%. It increases to “30% for streptococcal toxicity shock, 15% for necrotizing dermohypodermitis and 20% for meningitis”.
“In France, These invasive infections have been increasing since 2000with the incidence rate increasing from 1.2 to 3.3/100,000,” specifies the Institut Pasteur.
How to explain the sequence of fatal cases?
There is currently no approved vaccine against Streptococcus A. Antibiotic treatment is generally prescribed to fight the bacteria. On the prevention side, compliance with hygiene measures and, above all, hand washing is recommended.
How to explain these deadly cases that are multiplying in the UK? “The lack of contact associated with the Covid-19 pandemic “may have caused a population-wide drop in immunity that could increase transmission, particularly among school-age children,” estimates microbiologist Dr. Simon Clarke from the University of Reading. quoted by the British Press and BFMTV.
According to our colleagues, using data from the UK health authorities, The number of cases in children under the age of four increased by 4.6 times in 2022 compared to the numbers recorded between 2017 and 2019.