Two children in Scotland have died from suspected Strep A infections, the country’s public health agency has said.
Public Health Scotland (PHS) said the children, aged under 10, had been among seven deaths in total from invasive Strep A cases between Oct 3 and Christmas Day.
They are the first cases of deaths of children in Scotland being linked to a surge in Strep A cases. The deaths of 21 children aged under 18 have been confirmed in England.
In previous years, there have been between zero and seven deaths in total during the same period in Scotland.
Humza Yousaf, the health secretary, tweeted: “Every death is a tragedy, particularly those of young children, my thoughts with families & loved ones affected. Thankfully most cases of Strep A present as mild illness & can be treated with antibiotics.”
Mr Yousaf added that he was working with the UK Government to ensure there were “adequate supplies” of medicines, but admitted there were “localised shortages”.
Earlier this month an alert was issued to pharmacists to warn there could be shortages of the drugs because of a surge in demand. Alternative antibiotics can be used in cases where ideal treatments are not available and are effective, he said.
Public Health Scotland said that in the week ending Dec 25 there were 869 laboratory reports of Strep A, a reduction from 1,079 the previous week. This compares with between 300 and 480 reports per week during peaks observed in the period since 2016.
While most cases can be treated at home, series infections, which are known as invasive, can be life-threatening.
The PHS report said: “Although increases in Gas [Group A Streptococcus] were reported in recent weeks in Scotland, [invasive] Gas infections levels for 2022 have been generally stable and similar to previous years.”
In the week ending Dec 25 there were 15 invasive cases reported across all age groups, compared with 13 in the previous week. This compares with between 12 and 18 cases per week during peaks observed in previous years.
Data from the beginning of October to Dec 25 show that PHS received reports of 20 invasive Gas cases in children under 10.
Infections caused by Strep A include the skin infection impetigo, scarlet fever and strep throat. Scarlet fever has seen a recent surge in cases, with case numbers three times higher than the same period in previous years.
