Six Ontario children under 10 have died since October as deadly form of strep sees record spread
Posted January 17, 2024 12:21 pm.
Last Updated January 17, 2024 6:39 pm.
An aggressive and sometimes deadly form of Strep A is seeing record cases across Canada, including in Ontario where at least six young children have died since October.
According to data from Public Health Ontario, cases and hospitalizations from Invasive Group A Strep (iGAS) in Ontario between this past October and December were nearly double those during the same time the year prior. The “invasive” form of the disease happens when bacteria spreads beyond places it normally infects.
The three-month stretch saw 48 deaths, including six in children aged nine or younger out of 64 cases. There were 12 total deaths from the illness in young children during the 2022-23 season.
The illness typically impacts people 65 years of age and older or young children under five.
There were 540 cases reported during the same span, including 222 iGAS cases reported in December alone, more than in any month on record.
More than three-quarters (76.4 per cent) of the reported cases were hospitalized, and approximately 9 per cent were fatal.
The previous monthly high came in May 2023 with 204 cases. The spread of the disease peaked during the spring last year with a three-month span from April to May seeing 574 reported cases.
Group A Strep is caused by bacteria that spread person-to-person through the nose, throat, wounds, or respiratory droplets.
“Some people carry the bacteria in the throat, or on the skin with no symptoms or have mild illness,” warns Public Health Ontario.
“In rare cases, it becomes “invasive” when bacteria enter the blood or deep tissue. This can result in severe life-threatening illness.”
More than 4,600 cases of invasive group A strep were confirmed across the country last year, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The number marks an increase of more than 40 per cent from the previous high in 2019.
An infectious diseases expert says lower-than-usual uptake of the flu vaccine in much of Canada may be partly responsible for the higher numbers.
Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, says the likelihood of an infection is higher when people are already sick with influenza or another respiratory illness.
He says a secondary infection of Group A strep could lead to sepsis, blood infections and even death, particularly for people who may already have a chronic condition, but it’s not too late to get vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19.
Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said there is no need for parents to panic because the disease is extremely rare.
“The anxiety is real because we’ve had some really bad respiratory seasons,” said Banerji, adding that the Ontario cases are from the northern part of the province where there is an increased chance of crowded living spaces and lack of access to health care.
“One of the things you can do if you’re worried about this is get your child the flu shot and get your child the COVID vaccine,” said Banerji, echoing Conway’s comments.
Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report
