Four primary school-aged children have died after contracting the Strep A bacterial infection.
On Friday, it was confirmed that a child from St John’s School in Ealing, West London had passed away, the day after a death was reported in Penarth, Wales.
Dr Yimmy Chow, health protection consultant at UKHSA London, 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 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.”
A six-year-old girl died following an outbreak of the infection at a school in Surrey last week. And a four-year-old boy died on November 14, it emerged today.
Strep A is a common infection that causes strep throat, or tonsillitis, scarlet fever and, in extreme cases, invasive Group A Strep (iGAS), which can be fatal.
Earlier, the parents of the child who attended the school in Wales paid tribute to their daughter.
Hanna Roap, aged seven, died 24 hours after becoming ill with the infection.
Mum Salah and dad Abul, both 37, said: “As most of you will be wondering what the cause of death was and to prevent misinformation, Hanna passed away as a result of contracting Strep A.
“It all happened suddenly,” they told local media.
Following her death, Dr Gjini said Wales Public Health was working with the school to raise awareness about the infection, suggesting people familiarise themselves with the symptoms of fever, sore throat, severe muscle aches and redness at the site of a wound.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and all those affected,” the doctor said.
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