2 Kids Die From Strep A; What Parents Need to Know

There are already at least two children in America and 15 in the United Kingdom that has died from infections caused by strep A.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is already investigating the possible increase in severe cases of strep A, especially in children.

Scientifically known as Group A streptococcus, it is a bacteria that usually causes only a mild disease yet can be immensely dangerous when it invades tissues outside where it usually stays.

Hospitals in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Washington have informed NBC News that they are seeing higher numbers of invasive Strep A than the typical numbers.

In Colorado, the invasive disease has killed two children since November. The last deaths caused by the bacteria in the state were still in 2018.

Connected with the increase in respiratory illnesses

Several million people in the U.S. contract Group A strep. However, only 14- to 25,000, a tiny fraction, develop the invasive disease, with children and older adults most at risk. Further, only 1,200 to 2,500 die from it.

Alarmingly though, this year, a hospital in Texas has already encountered a "four-fold rise" in cases of invasive Group A strep, NBC News reported.

The Denver Health Department has reported 11 cases since November 1, much higher than the typical rate. All cases involved children - 11 between 10 months to 6 years old.

The two children who died were reported to be too young to go to school.

According to the medical director of infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship at the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh's professor of pediatrics and surgery, Dr. Michael Green, the rise in cases in some locations is likely connected to the increase in viral diseases such as the flu, RSV, and possibly COVID-19.

He explained that viruses like the flu could impair small airways, making them more vulnerable to bacterial infections. Where there are vast amounts of respiratory viruses, there is a "bump up in bacterial infections," the doctor emphasized.

What parents need to know

Strep A usually only causes a sore throat or cellulitis but can easily be treated as these are mild and common conditions.

What the CDC is currently investigating is the invasive strep A infection, which refers to "when the bacteria spread outside the throat or skin (where they tend to cause only mild symptoms) and into the bloodstream, lungs, fluid in the spinal cord or "other places inside the body they would not typically live," Today quoted CDC.

Other conditions that can also result from a strep A infection:

1. Scarlet fever, which can commonly cause rash and fever;
2. Necrotizing fasciitis or popularly known as a flesh-eating disease;
3. Rheumatic fever, which causes inflammation or swelling of the heart, joints, brain, and skin;
4. Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), which can "develop very quickly into low blood pressure, multiple organ failure, and even death," as per the CDC.