Children at risk of strep A in England could be given preventive antibiotics

Primary school children at risk from a severe form of strep A could be given preventative antibiotics as a blanket measure.

A senior health official suggested the early start to the strep A season in the UK could have an effect on immunity levels, although others downplayed the impact.

Most strep A infections are mild, with a sore throat or a skin infections that can be easily treated with antibiotics, and deaths are rare.

Group A streptococcal infections can be fatal in extreme cases. There has been an increase in iGAS cases this year.

The schools minister said on Tuesday that preventative antibiotics could be given to children at schools.

The UK Health Security Agency are looking at the situation in schools where there is an outbreak of an infectious disease.

The UKHSA are very involved with those schools and will be giving further advice later on. It could be an option for those schools where there is an infectious disease.

The health minister made a proposal in the House of Commons.

The Conservative peer said: "We have given instructions to doctors that where necessary they should prescribe penicillin as the best line of defence."

Mass prescription of antibiotics can build up resistance to serious infections in the population, so general practitioners don't recommend it.

The UKHSA said the practice of giving antibiotics to children in a school or nursery was rare.

On a case-by-case basis, the agency said the move was only considered in exceptional circumstances.

The UKHSA said there was no good evidence of the effectiveness of antibiotics in outbreak control.

When there are reports of severe outcomes, it can be considered by the OCT. Antibiotics are not routinely recommended for contacts of GAS infections in schools and nurseries.

On Tuesday it was reported that a ninth child had died in Northern Ireland.

Adam Finn said it was important to get the balance right.

There are a lot of mildly ill children around at the moment, and at the same time help people and support people to seek care and attention when their children become seriously ill. The children need to be seen quickly.

He said children who have run of the mill viral infections can feel unwell and then better again, and things can go up and down.

He said that children with infections don't feel better and get worse.

The skin infection impetigo is one of the illnesses caused by the group A strepbacteria.

There has been an increase in the number of cases.

A sore throat, headaches, and fever are some of the symptoms of scarlet fever.