Recent articles from The Times and the BBC revealed that several families in the UK have already tragically suffered loss of their children with the death toll for Strep A reportedly rising to seven since September 2022. Four-year-old Camila Rose Burns’ family asking the public for prayers as their daughter battles an intense infection of Strep A and has been placed on a ventilator and are also pleading for parents to get their children checked for Strep A if they feel their children, particularly young children are showcasing any symptoms.

A Plea to Parents

Camila’s parents along with several other families of children who have died or were seriously ill due to Strep A in the UK are now also speaking out about the symptoms of Strep A that their children experienced, in hopes of helping other parents to be able to spot if their child has these and seek medical attention immediately.

The Signs and Symptoms

Some of the symptoms reported by the parents included:

• Rash
• Chest pains
• Black vomit
• Heart murmur and strong pain in legs

Infectious disease paediatrician Prof Beate Kampmann also added some other symptoms that parents should be mindful of that child with Strep A when they were first infected including:

• High fever
• Sore throat
• Very red tongue

There were also reports of some of the children looking to have seemingly gotten better at first but then their symptoms reappeared and intensified. Six out of the seven children who have died were believed to have had the more intense and invasive infection of Group A streptococcal disease (iGAS). Normally in winters, the total number of children that have this is around one or two. GOV.UK defines iGAS as:

“a bacterium which can colonise the throat, skin and anogenital tract.”

iGas can cause several other respiratory infections. Therefore, it is also important for parents to observe if their child has symptoms similar to infections including tonsillitis, pneumonia or scarlet fever.

We understand this can be scary news to you as parents, especially those travelling to the UK for the holidays. At Integra, we are committed to providing quality care and are committed to helping you and your children. Our paediatric team is one of the largest on island and with highly experienced and respected doctors. If you are concerned about your child, please get in touch below. We’re here for you.

Get in touch out of hours…

Fever is a normal response of the body when fighting an infection. All children will experience fever during childhood at some point, especially in pre school years. I have created a fever advice sheet for you which offers information and advice on what to do when your child has a fever.

It’s been a strange couple of years for us all. Few would have imagined that we would have had to face the global threat of a pandemic that saw us all having to test, isolate and miss out on the things we had all taken for granted – like seeing friends or family, socialising, being together. Some of the most profound effects of this have been on our children of the pandemic.

As adults we get exposed to many challenges across our years but for children this has been hugely significant. Our children have got used to mask wearing, frequent lateral flow tests, time out of school and away from friends and living with a level of fear and anxiety around infection.  My own children remember clearly the time during the height of the pandemic in London, before we had the protection of the Covid vaccine, when I would return from working in the hospital and they couldn’t come near me until I had showered to make sure I didn’t bring Covid into our home.It’s difficult to comprehend the anxiety something like that generates.

To put some sense of the magnitude of the effects on our children of the pandemic, as early as 2020, a survey of 1,000 parents across the US, conducted by the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, found that 71% of parents said the pandemic had taken a toll on their child’s mental health, and 69% said the pandemic was the worst thing to happen to their child. A national survey of 3,300 high schoolers conducted in spring 2020 found close to a third of students felt unhappy and depressed much more than usual. The American Psychological Society brings where we are in 2022 with the starkly worded Trends Report; Children’s mental health is in crisis.

So how can we help them?

It was a scary time for them; schools had closed and they became fearful to leave the house at all, even for daily exercise. As a family we tried to embrace time together and create new memories of a time that would soon pass; the time when London slowed down and we began to hear the birds again as the traffic disappeared.

Most children are resilient and can adapt to new situations by just taking things in their stride. Others will find it harder and may be feeling sad or anxious, some even terrified.

So how do we support our children in navigating their way through these Covid-times?

It starts with encouraging open and honest conversations. Checking in regularly with your child about how they are, is key when we all lead busy lives. If we don’t ask, we can’t expect them to spontaneously share. Allowing children time and space to express their feelings, whatever they may be, is important.

For younger children, feelings may be communicated by a change in behaviour or routine. Although we naturally want to reassure, we also need to accept the way they may be feeling and try to understand it. We should all recognize that the mental health of our children is as important as their physical health, and of course the two are inseparable too in many respects. Remember that a healthy diet, exercise and encouraging healthy sleep habits are vital for all children physically and mentally. Things that perhaps seem less important when facing the magnitude of the pandemic may well be key to ensuring some sense of normality, and some of them, like diet or exercise, are huge important to mental wellbeing.

I would also encourage anyone who is concerned about their child to go and see your Paediatrician and discuss those concerns. It isn’t always easy to see what is going on but as parents we often know something is amiss. When it comes to child mental health, it is vital we don’t ignore those signs. You paediatrician should be able to signpost to more resources and support, and provide direct guidance on specific issues.