We don’t know yet what’s behind the spate of strep A deaths, but we can do more to protect children
Strep A is a common infection in children and most cases are mild or asymptomatic. But on rare occasions, some cases cause scarlet fever and strep throat and bacteria gets into the bloodstream and lungs, causing sepsis. The rising numbers of infections and deaths have understandably caused anxiety among parents. Early signs of strep A can look similar to a range of other infections, and it spreads easily among children via sneezing and coughing, or through touching. This makes it a difficult disease to contain during an indoor mixing and party season, and clinically it is hard to diagnose strep A at an early stage when it is seen in primary care.
Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
