UKHSA update on scarlet fever and invasive Group A streptococcal infection

[bennevisplace]

gov.uk/government/news/ukhs...

Extract:

"Scarlet fever is caused by bacteria called group A streptococci. These bacteria also cause other respiratory and skin infections such as strep throat and impetigo.

In very rare occasions, the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause an illness called invasive Group A strep (iGAS). While still uncommon, there has been an increase in invasive Group A strep cases this year, particularly in children under 10".

According to

nhs.uk/conditions/scarlet-f...

scarlet fever is highly contagious, is more prevalent among children than among adults, and the host can be infectious up to six days before symptoms appear.

If you have a weakened immune system you really don't want to risk an invasive strep infection pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/282...

[Thursday45]

Thank you for the alert. I heard a short article about this on the news this morning.

[blowinginthewind]

Thank you for this, I have saved the article.

Liz in UK

[Fran57]

Thanks.

Yes, yet another invisible thing to try to avoid 🤦‍♀️

Stay safe,

Fran 😷

[virdieblue in reply to Fran57]

I have a bumper sticker from Mauna Kea Hawaii "Beware invisible Cows" Now THAT would hurt!

Virginia

[RogerPinner]

Thanks, something else to worry about. I suppose the "and the host can be infectious up to six days before symptoms appear" warning rules out hugs with the grandchildren.

[bennevisplace in reply to RogerPinner]

I'm not planning on freezing out the little ones but first I'm going to check if there have been any scarlet fever cases at school or in the neighbourhood, i.e. put their parents on alert.