A five-year-old girl who died after contracting a strep A infection has been called out by her school Stella-Lily McCorkindale.
The P2 pupil attended Black Mountain Primary School in Belfast, which sent a letter to parents on Friday, addressing the “tragic loss” and sending thoughts to the pupil’s family and friends.
In a statement on Tuesday, the school described Stella-Lily as a “very bright and talented little girl” who was “very popular with both staff and children and will be greatly missed by everyone”, reports Sky.
It said: “This is a tragic loss to the Black Mountain Primary School family and our school community, and the thoughts of the entire school are with the Stella-Lily’s family and friends at this sad and difficult time. To assist in supporting our pupils and staff at this sad time, additional trained staff from the Education Authority Critical Incident Response Team have been engaged and will be providing support to the school. We recognise that this news may cause worry amongst our school community and we want to reassure parents that we continue to work closely with the Public Health Agency at this time,” reports Sky.
The Northern Ireland health authorities have not yet ruled on her death.
The P2 pupil is the ninth in the UK known to have died with a form of strep A.
Streptococcus A infections are usually mild and easily treated with the antibiotic amoxicillin, which is used to treat bacterial infections. But an invasive form of the bacteria, known as iGAS, emerged this year, particularly in people younger than 10.
There has also been a large increase in the number of cases of scarlet fever, the symptoms of which can include a sore throat, headache, fever and a “sandpaper” feeling with a pink or red rash.
The Northern Ireland Public Health Agency last week urged parents and carers to be aware of scarlet fever symptoms after clusters of cases were reported in schools and day care centers in Antrim, Belfast, Bangor and Craigavon.
It said this follows two years into the COVID-19 pandemic when reported cases were lower than usual.
Education Minister Nick Gibb told Sky News on Tuesday that children with strep A could be given antibiotics to stop the infection.
After at least nine children died across the UK, Dr Brown reiterated that there is no evidence to suggest there has been a change in the circulating strains of Strep A to make it more severe.
He suggested a lack of mixing due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as susceptibility in children that “anticipates the normal scarlet fever season” this side of Christmas.
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