The elderly are at higher risk of Strep A than young children, according to a health minister who was addressing the House of Commons. It is thought that people above the age of 65 have succumbed to the disease this year than any other group. Data from the UK Health Security Agency show that the number of suspected scarlet fever cases since September has risen to nearly 30,000.
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At-risk group
Maria Caulfield was responding to a question about the shortage of penicillin, commonly used to treat strep A infections such as scarlet fever and impetigo. The Government issued a second wave of emergency rule changes to allow pharmacists to supply alternative medicines to treat Strep Infections. The move formed part of an effort to cope with antibiotic supply problems as cases surge. Caulfield explained:
There isn’t a shortage of antibiotics to deal with Strep A. There have been pressures on supplies. There have been five to six times the amount of prescriptions that are normally issued at this time of year.
Strep A
A total of 16 children aged under 18 have died from invasive group A streptococcus also known as strep A. The bacteria causes scarlet fever, which can then develop into the more serious invasive infection. Scarlet fever can cause flu-like symptoms, including a high temperature, a sore throat, an aching body, nausea, vomiting and swollen neck glands, which may appear as a large lump on the side of the neck. Prof Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser at the UKHSA, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
The latest with scarlet fever and strep A infections are that we’ve seen just over 7,500 notifications of scarlet fever, and that’s probably an underestimate. We have a lot of reports in the past few days so we expect it to be even higher. That’s about three times higher than the same time in a normal season. The last bad season we had in 2017-18.
Sources used:
The Guardian: Significant rise’ in suspected UK scarlet fever cases brings total to nearly 30,000
The Telegraph: Grandparents more at risk from Strep A than grandchildren, warns minister
