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If you’re a parent or caregiver of elementary school-age children like me, chances are you’ve Googled the following in the past week: “Strep A signs and symptoms”; “Parents urged to watch for these key symptoms”; “Strep A Cases in Your Area” and “The Latest Live Strep A News”. And then there is the terribly tragic news that a ninth child, in Belfast, has died after contracting a severe form of the disease.
This morning I received a letter from the UK health and safety agency informing me that the primary school my children go to in East London has several cases of scarlet fever and impetigo; both caused by group A streptococcus bacteria, the same strain that has caused some severe child deaths.
To say I’m worried would be an understatement: especially when both of my children have reported sore throats and stomachaches in recent days; and scarlet fever symptoms include sore throat, headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms are common, and also consistent with the winter bugs that parents know to expect, year after year.
Upon reading the latest news, I was immediately filled with the desire to get my two children out of the classroom; stripping them and inspecting every inch of their bodies for a fine red rash; run my fingertips over their skin to try and see if they have any patches that look like “sandpaper”. In other words, I want to do what all parents and caregivers want: keep them safe.
But panic doesn’t help anyone, we all know that. Children need routine and learning. Schools are aware and vigilant. The numbers involved in this current outbreak are still relatively small, and the risks of mortality are low, as the bacteria usually cause mild illness, although that is no comfort to any of the grieving families who are suffering the loss of a son His pain is unimaginable.
Even so, I have been surprised at how little has been discussed among the various school-related WhatsApp groups about Strep A; how parents like me don’t openly voice their concerns.
Perhaps, in the wake of Covid, many carers trust that we know the drill: our children have accepted washing their hands for 20 seconds as a routine and know to report any symptoms when they feel unwell. It also helps to hear England’s schools minister suggest that preventive antibiotics could be given to school children who report Strep A infections.
All this can – and should – be a consolation. But helplessness is the worst part of being a parent.
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Just a couple of weeks ago I found myself calling an ambulance for my six-year-old son after he had a severe asthma attack in the middle of the night. The ambulance never arrived, almost certainly due to the strain on the NHS and the woeful lack of funding available for an essential public service. The last time this happened, about six months ago, it took two hours for the ambulance to turn up. It is not uncommon for underpaid and overworked staff to go on strike.
Knowing I could do nothing but sit and watch my son struggle to breathe was one of the scariest (and most stressful) moments of my life. And this is a bit like this: working as a journalist; as a parent; reading day after day about the living nightmare of families affected by the increase in cases of severe invasive Strep A disease this season.
There is nothing we can do except watch for the signs and remember all the hard lessons learned during Covid.