Four children with strep A have died in B.C. in the past month, disease centre says

VANCOUVER — Four children under the age of 10 who had streptococcal infections have died since mid-December, in what the BC Centre for Disease Control says is part of a surge in such infections. 

A bulletin released by the centre, the Provincial Health Services Authority and BC Children’s Hospital said data from 2023 showed a threefold increase in invasive group A streptococcal infections in people under 20. 

It said there were 60 cases last year, three times as many as the year before, when five deaths were reported in children under 10 for the whole year. 

In all four recent deaths, the centre said the children also had the flu or other viruses alongside the strep infection.

While the bacteria that causes the infection typically causes mild infections, it can become more dangerous when it invades the lungs, the blood or spreads along muscle tissue. 

The centre and BC Children’s Hospital said families need to be aware of symptoms including fever lasting for more than five days for children of any age, a rash, swollen tongue, struggling to breathe or a child who becomes very sick, very quickly. 

Three of the deaths were previously reported to have occurred in December and were said to have been linked to the flu.

In its latest update on respiratory illnesses, the BC Centre for Disease Control said flu and RSV activity remained elevated in the province.

Thursday’s update said COVID-19 activity was “variable” in the second week of January, with wastewater levels and test positivity rising, but below peaks observed in the fall.

It said COVID-19 hospital admissions were stable, and deaths slightly down.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2024.

The Canadian Press