4 B.C. children under 10 dead from invasive strep infections since mid-December, officials say
CTV
Four children under age 10 have died in British Columbia from invasive group A streptococcal bacteria since mid-December, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Four children under age 10 have died in British Columbia from invasive group A streptococcal bacteria since mid-December, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
The centre said in a statement Thursday that the province "continues to experience higher levels" of this type of infection – abbreviated as iGAS – than usual.
"Following a December 2023 bulletin about elevated levels of iGAS infections, updated data from 2023 now show 60 cases reported in people under the age of 20, three times as many infections reported in this age group for 2022," the BCCDC's statement reads.
Two of the four iGAS-related deaths reported Thursday were identified alongside influenza, and have previously been publicized, the BCCDC said. The other two iGAS-related deaths occurred in patients infected with human metapneumovirus, which is another respiratory illness.
Earlier this month, the agency reported that three B.C. children had died of complications linked to influenza since mid-December.
Asked by CTV News whether the third previously reported flu death was part of the iGAS toll announced Thursday, the BCCDC did not directly answer the question, but reiterated that two of the three flu deaths were iGAS-related.
Thus, it appears that five children under age 10 have died from a combination of respiratory illness and bacterial infection since mid-December, with four of the five having iGAS and the fifth having influenza, but not iGAS.
