Preventative Antibiotics Could Be Used at Schools Affected By Strep A Infections: Minister

A young girl paints a picture of herself on the school window as children of key workers take part in school activities at Oldfield Brow Primary School in Altrincham, England, on April 8, 2020. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Preventative antibiotics could be given to children at schools affected by strep A infections, the Minister of State at the Department for Education, Nick Gibb, has said.

Investigations are currently underway in the UK following reports of an increase in lower respiratory tract Group A strep infections in children over the past few weeks, which have caused severe illness.

Gibb told GB News that the issue was raised in the House of Lords on Monday and the use of antibiotics is an option.

“Lord Markham said in the House of Lords yesterday that the UK Health and Security Agency [UKHSA] are monitoring the position and are considering those kind of issues in those schools where there is an infection,” he said.

“This is an ongoing situation, the UKHSA are involved very closely with those schools and they will be providing further advice later on,” he added.

“But that may well be an option for those particular schools where there is an infection,” said Gibb.

Minister of State for School Standards Nick Gibb arrives at the Cabinet Office ahead of a government COVID-19 Coronavirus Cobra meeting in London, on March 11, 2020. (Luke Dray/Getty Images)

Group A Streptococci

Scarlet fever is caused by bacteria called Group A streptococci, which also causes other respiratory and skin infections such as strep throat and impetigo. On some rare occasions, it can get into the bloodstream and cause an illness called invasive Group A strep (iGAS).

At least eight children have died from invasive strep A infection since September.

Dr. Tony Hinton, an NHS consultant in ear, nose, and throat surgery (ENT) told The Epoch Times that it’s “not an uncommon infection, particularly in children.”

“ENT surgeons see children with tonsillitis that sometimes have it because of this streptococcus infection and if it’s left untreated it can rarely cause heart problems, problems with the joints, arthritis problems, so it does need to be taken seriously,” he said.

He added that very rarely it can get into the blood, which is “why these children have died.”

“It may a bit more prevalent at the moment as kids haven’t mixed enough in the last couple of years,” he said.

‘Medically Nonsensical’

He questioned using preventive antibiotics in schools.

“If any doctors are unsure of whether a child has that or not, I would give antibiotics, there’s no harm in doing that,” said Hinton.

But he added that he believes that giving antibiotics to every child as a prophylactic measure “would be a mistake.”

“If you just use antibiotics like that too much, then let’s say a child at that school does get ill two weeks later, the antibiotic may not work so well,” he said.

“Sometimes you treat people with antibiotics, it can upset their normal gut bacteria and you can get other illnesses which are very, very difficult to treat from taking the unnecessary antibiotics. There’s obviously a balance to strike,” said Hinton.

“If there is somebody that a doctor thinks might have that disease, I would say don’t necessarily wait for swabs from the throats, treat anyway, because it’s not worth risking that it may develop into something worse.

“But it shouldn’t just be given out to all schoolchildren. That’s just medically nonsensical,” he said.

A UKSHA spokesperson told The Epoch Times by email that on the issue of preventative antibiotics for strep A, “We have longstanding guidance that has been in place for a number of years now.”

The guidance states that in “school and nursery settings, antibiotic chemoprophylaxis is not routinely recommended for contacts of non-invasive GAS infection.”

“Chemoprophylaxis can eradicate carriage in those who may be at risk of infection or pose a risk to others through onward transmission. However there is no good evidence of its effectiveness in routine outbreak control in this setting,” it states.

However, the guidance adds that prophylactic antibiotics can be “considered in exceptional circumstances, for example when there are reports of severe outcomes, or hospitalisations.”

‘Very Shocking and Concerning’

Adam Finn, professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol, told Times Radio that people are right to be worried and “it’s an enormous tragedy for these families.”

“We’re not used, in our society, to losing the lives of previously healthy children—this is something that’s very shocking and concerning,” he said.

“What we’ve got to do is get the balance right here; on the one hand not alarm people whose children are mildly ill—and 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, relentlessly sicker and sicker as the hours go by. Those are the children that need to be urgently seen.”

He said children with “run of the mill” viral infections can feel unwell and then better again, and “things go up and down,” and they continue to eat and drink.

“Children who’ve got invasive bacterial infection, they don’t have those episodes of feeling better—they just get worse and worse,” he said.

“They stop eating, they stop responding, they sleep a lot. They might complain, if they are awake, of aches and pains and headaches.

“They might have a rash or a sore throat or tummy ache, but they just get sicker and sicker. When you see that progressive decline, that’s the time to get the child to medical attention,” said Finn.

PA Media contributed to this report.