A schoolboy suffering from a suspected blood clot was diagnosed with Strep A after being taken to hospital.
Jordan James Sood cried out from pain in his leg earlier this month.
The five-year-old had been suffering from a high fever earlier in the week, but his family thought it was the result of the dental surgery he had just undergone.
His parents were stunned when doctors told them all the symptoms were related and that a bacterial infection was to blame.
Mum Danielle, 34, said: “All went well with JJ’s tooth extraction but the next day his temperature shot right up to 39C. We were worried about him so we gave him Calpol. That brought his temperature down, but now I think it just covered any symptoms of Strep A until a couple of days later when he told us his leg was hurting him and he couldn’t move it,” reports Metro.
Danielle and father Pankaj, 34, were worried the pain in JJ’s leg could be a symptom of a blood clot, but an examination by a doctor revealed an infection in their baby son’s knee bone.
He was admitted to a ward that night and blood test results confirmed he had invasive strep the next day.
Painful, aching joints, most commonly in the knees, ankles, elbows, and wrists, can be a sign of rheumatic fever, which develops as a side effect of Strep A, often several weeks after the initial infection.
JJ is expected to stay in the hospital for at least a week so doctors can monitor his response to a course of antibiotics.
His mum continued: ‘I can’t believe how close we were to losing him,” reports Metro.
A total of 16 children across the UK have now died from invasive Strep A infection after a surge in cases.
Health officials say the surge is not due to a new strain and could instead be due to lower immunity and increasing post-Covid social mixing.
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