Basingstoke mum urging parents to trust instinct on group A strep

Nicky Moore went through every parent’s worst nightmare when her eldest daughter Ellie became unwell as a baby.

The 42-year-old mother-of-two has decided to speak about her own experience to raise awareness of the infection as cases have increased nationally, with nine children having died in recent weeks.

Public Health Agency is urging parents and guardians to be alert for signs of group A strep – a bacteria which usually causes a mild infection with symptoms including a sore throat or scarlet fever.

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In very rare circumstances, these bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause serious illness, called invasive group A strep, which is what happened to Ellie.

Nicky, who works as an admin assistant for Caterpillar Music in Basingstoke, said the news had brought back memories of her traumatic ordeal nine years ago.

The mum said: “I still feel traumatised by it. Thankfully, Ellie doesn’t remember. But seeing the news about strep cases brought it all back.”

Ellie became unwell with cold-like symptoms when she was 11 months. However, Nicky said her daughter quickly became seriously unwell with a fever and was refusing to eat or drink.

She was taken to Charlie’s Day Unit at Basingstoke hospital where she was monitored and given fluid, before being sent home.

The following day, Nicky said Ellie wasn’t herself and still had a high fever. It was then that Nicky noticed she also had a rash on her arm.

The mum took her daughter back to hospital and was told Ellie had developed septic arthritis which required antibiotic treatment administered through an intravenous drip.

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Five days later Ellie had to be transferred to Southampton hospital after doctors found the bacteria from the infection had travelled to her elbow. Ellie underwent surgery to have her elbow drained.

Ellie recovered and went home, and Nicky hoped that was the end of the ordeal.

But just seven months later Ellie caught group A strep again, and this time the bacteria had travelled to her lungs causing her to have pneumonia.

Ellie was given antibiotics at hospital and discharged, but Nicky said her “mum instinct kicked in” and the next day she insisted her daughter should be seen by a doctor.

She said: “Her fever hit 40 then it came back down and then up again. She lost interest in things, she wasn’t engaged she just lay there and wanted a cuddle and she wasn’t eating or drinking. I just got that feeling.”

Nicky insisted that Ellie should be checked over again and this time she was given an X-ray which showed bacteria had collected in the cavity between her lungs and ribs.

Ellie was taken to Southampton hospital and was on antibiotics for more than a week.

Thankfully, she did not need surgery this time, which Nicky said was down to Ellie receiving treatment quickly.

Nicky said: “Thankfully she’s a happy and healthy 10-year-old now but as a parent it was the most traumatic time of my life.”

She is now urging parents to know the symptoms of group A strep and trust their instinct.

She said: “You know your child better than anyone. If something doesn’t feel right, get it checked. In both of Ellie’s experiences, she went from fine to seriously ill very quickly so please don’t delay.”

She added: “My experience, particularly when Ellie was a baby and couldn’t speak for herself, I had to advocate for her and if you feel that something isn’t right you have to push and try and explain why you think something isn’t right. In both of Ellie’s instances, it was only because we pushed that everything turned out alright.”

Data from the UK Health Security Agency, released on December 2, shows that scarlet fever cases, caused by group A strep, continue to remain higher than is typically seen at this time of year.

Scarlet fever is usually a mild illness, but it is highly infectious.

Symptoms include a sore throat, headache and fever along with a fine, pinkish or red body rash with a sandpapery feel. On darker skin, the rash can be more difficult to detect visually but will still have a sandpapery feel.

Scarlet fever is caused by bacteria group A strep, which can also cause other respiratory and skin infections such as strep throat and impetigo.

If you suspect your child has scarlet fever contact NHS 11 or your GP, because early treatment of scarlet fever with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of complications such as pneumonia or a bloodstream infection, called invasive group A strep.

While still uncommon, there has been an increase in invasive group A strep cases this year, particularly in children under 10.

For more information visit gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-update-on-scarlet-fever-and-invasive-group-a-strep.