Five more children have died from Strep A bringing death toll in UK to 24

22 December 2022, 19:39

By Fran Way

@journofran

Five more children have died from Strep A, new data has revealed.

UK Health Security Statistics show that 21 kids in England have died from the bacterial infection.

The death toll for the UK-wide outbreak is 24 with two children dying in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.

Symptoms of Strep A include a rash, sore throat, flushed cheeks, muscle aches, fever and sores.

The figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to show an ‘out of season increase’ in scarlet fever and group A streptococcus infections and a higher number of cases than seen in a typical year.