More and more serious streptococcal diseases in children: WHO advises increased vigilance

Created: 2022-12-15 04:47

By: Miriam Haberhauer

Several European countries have reported an increase in severe streptococcal disease in children under 10 years of age.

The WHO and the EU health authority have now called for increased vigilance.

Munich – Severe courses of streptococcal diseases in children are increasing.

In the UK, 13 children under the age of 15 died within a few weeks from an infection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the EU health authority ECDC have now called for increased vigilance in a joint statement.

Streptococcal disease: increasingly severe cases in children

The UK, Sweden, France, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands reported an increase in cases of the serious illness known as iGAS (invasive group A streptococcal infection) in children aged 10 and under in 2022.

At the same time, several deaths in this age group were reported in connection with streptococcal infections.

In both France and Great Britain, the number of severe streptococcal diseases is many times higher than in the same period before the corona pandemic, according to the WHO and ECDC statement.

As a rule, a streptococcal disease only triggers a mild course of the disease, such as scarlet fever.

The infection is easily treatable with antibiotics.

In rare cases, however, serious complications can occur.

More and more children are suffering from severe streptococcal disease.

This could be due to the Corona contact restrictions, among other things.

© IMAGO/Ute Grabowsky/photothek.de

Research into the causes: “catch-up effect” due to contact restrictions?

According to current knowledge, however, there is no new variant of A streptococci that could have triggered the increase.

Antibiotic resistance is probably not the cause either.

Instead, WHO experts assume that after the contact restrictions have been lifted in the wake of the corona virus, there will be a kind of catch-up effect, as fewer infections occurred during the pandemic.

According to the WHO, the fact that many other viruses are currently circulating that increase the disease in connection with the streptococci could lead to a larger number of serious diseases.

Risk so far low - but increased vigilance required

Although the WHO experts have so far assessed the risk to the general public as low, they advised all European countries to watch out for a similar development.

Health authorities should consider campaigns to educate physicians and the public about iGAS disease.

Parents and guardians should be notified of any worrisome symptoms.

The message also recommended tests, corona and flu vaccinations.

Countries should "increase their vigilance, especially when respiratory viruses are widespread in children," said WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge.

A sore throat can be a symptom of streptococcal disease, but is not a sure sign of it - pain in the throat area can also have various other causes.