Strep A outbreak: Child at school in Ealing is third to die from illness in a week

A primary school student at a school in Ealing has become the third child to die after contracting a Strep A infection in the past week.

Health officials said the child attended St John’s School in Ealing, west London.

Dr Yimmy Chow, health protection consultant at the UK Health Security Agency, said: “We are extremely saddened to hear about the death of a child at St John’s Primary School, and our thoughts are with their family, friends and the school community.

“Working with the Ealing Council public health team, we have provided precautionary advice to the school community to help prevent further cases and we continue to monitor the situation closely.”

Two other schoolchildren have died from the infection in the past seven days.

One was a pupil at Victoria Primary School in Penarth, four miles south of Cardiff, in the Vale of Glamorgan, said Public Health Wales.

The other was a six-year-old child who died of the same infection at Ashford Church of England School in Surrey last week.

Most people who come into contact with the bacteria remain well and symptom-free or develop mild throat or skin infections.

Invasive Group A Streptococcal disease (iGAS or Strep A) is known to cause scarlet fever, throat infections and, in very rare cases, invasive disease.

This can occur when bacteria get into parts of the body where they are not usually found, such as the blood, muscle or the lungs.

It can happen if the bacteria get past a person’s defences, such as through an open wound or when a person’s immune system is depleted.

This can happen when you are already ill or are on treatments, such as some cancer treatments, that affect your immune system.

Two of the most severe types of invasive disease are necrotising fasciitis and toxic shock syndrome.

Symptoms of invasive disease include fever, severe muscle aches, localised muscle tenderness and redness at the site of a wound.

You should contact your GP or get medical advice by calling 111 straight away if you think you have any of the signs and symptoms of invasive disease.

Tell your doctor if you have been in contact with someone who has had Group A Strep recently.