An alarm has been raised at Britain because of outbreak of type A streptococcus which has so far been responsible for the deaths of nine children between the ages of 4 and 12 since September.

A five-year-old girl in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is the latest victim of Strep A in the UK.

Streptococcus A’ is an infection that usually has mild complications in the human body and is treated with antibiotics given for 24 hours. As the doctors point out, its valid diagnosis is very important for the patient’s health. It is transmitted relatively easily when someone comes into close contact with the sick person, with the droplets of their cough or sneeze.

In some cases, usually few, it causes serious illness as the bacterium enters the blood vessels and causes a serious infection that can lead to death.

The most common disease caused by Streptococcus A’ is scarlet fever, which has flu-like symptoms. Among them, within 12 to 48 hours a rash appears, starting on the chest and stomach and then spreading. Small bumps also appear on the tongue which becomes redder than usual and is therefore called “strawberry tongue”.

Until last week, as reported by the Athens News Agency, 901 cases of scarlet fever had been recorded in the United Kingdom, a number that is already ten times higher than the same period in 2021. That is why the health authorities speak of an outbreak of the virus and thus have sounded the alarm calling on parents and teachers to be vigilant and monitor children for symptoms such as: difficulty or even pauses in breathing; sore throat and high fever; rashes on the abdomen, tongue or lips; sudden and unexplained weight loss.

Scientists attribute the outbreak of strep mainly to the effects of the quarantine caused by the pandemic. As they point out, on the one hand it has weakened the immune system of some sensitive organisms and on the other hand it has helped spread common viruses, such as the flu.