Two more confirmed cases of same deadly infection that killed girl, 6, found at nearby school
TWO more cases of the same deadly bacteria infection that killed a six-year-old girl have been found at a nearby school.
The primary school pupil died from the highly infectious Strep A last week while another child was hospitalised.
The UK Health Security Agency has now been notified of cases of Strep A in Year 1 and Year 6 at nearby Echelford School - while a third pupil has closely-related condition scarlet fever.
The health body had offered pupils and staff antibiotics following the death in Ashford, Surrey.
A letter is understood to have been sent to all parents of kids at Echelford, informing them they had switched off drinking water fountains and were monitoring pupils carefully.
One parent said: "Parents are of course getting very concerned about this outbreak, especially as a child died last week.
Read More in News
"It is every parent's worst nightmare We are being told to keep sending our kids into school, but it feels incredibly risky given there are now at least four cases in the local area at two different schools.
"Will our children be safe? It feels like it is a really serious situation. The schools and health authorities are trying to play it all down but behind the scenes there must be huge concern about this."
Senior staff at Echelford reportedly said they had been advised that children should continue to attend school as normal and parents should not be overly alarmed.
They assured they would continue to review and increase their focus on hygiene throughout the school and were increasing hand hygiene and cleaning of key areas.
Most read in The Sun
A spokesman for the UK Health Security Agency said in response to the latest confirmed cases: "As part of our public health response to last week’s tragic news, we issued some general information about the signs and symptoms of scarlet fever, which is not uncommon, to schools in the vicinity of Ashford Primary.
"A number of other illnesses typically circulate at this time of year and parents, school and nursery staff are advised to be aware of the symptoms, to keep up with vaccinations and to seek advice from NHS 111 if they have concerns."
The child who died was in Year 1 at the Ashford Church of England Primary School in Ashford and was believed to have succumbed to the invasive Group A streptococcal (iGAS) infection last Tuesday.
The bacteria - sometimes known as strep throat - usually causes a sore throat or skin rash and is passed by physical contact or through droplets from sneezing or coughing.
In very rare cases, the infection can become invasive and enter parts of the body where bacteria aren't normally found, which can be serious.
In response to the child's death in Ashford, Dr Claire Winslade, health protection consultant at UKHSA South East, said: “We are extremely saddened to hear about the death of a pupil at Ashford Church of England School, and our thoughts are with their family, friends and the school community.
“As a precautionary measure, we have recommended antibiotics to pupils and staff in the same year groups as the individuals affected.
"We have provided advice to the school to help prevent further cases and will continue to monitor the situation.
“Information has been shared with parents about the signs and symptoms of iGAS, which include high fever with severe muscle aches, pain in one area of the body and unexplained vomiting or diarrhoea. Anyone with these symptoms should call NHS111 immediately.”
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"Infection with Group A Streptococcus bacterium usually causes a sore throat or skin rash and is passed by physical contact or through droplets from sneezing or coughing.
"In very rare cases, the infection can become invasive and enter parts of the body where bacteria aren’t normally found, which can be serious."
