Strep A: Penarth family traumatised by daughter's death

The parents of a girl who died from Strep A say they have been left traumatised by her death.

Seven-year-old Hanna Roap, from Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, died from invasive Group A Streptococcal disease (iGAS), or Strep A.

Her father Hasan described her as a "bubbly" daughter, who was "always smiling" and said: "We're just numb, we don't know what to do".

Following her death, a multi-agency review has been put in place.

Across the UK eight children have died with an invasive form of the Strep A bacterial infection in recent months.

Strep A infections are usually mild, causing illness ranging from a sore throat to scarlet fever, but they can develop into a more serious invasive Group A Strep (iGAS) infection.

Public Health Wales said iGAS cases were rare in Wales and children have a low risk of contracting the disease.

PHW communicable disease control consultant Dr Graham Brown said: "In very rare cases, group A streptococcal infection can cause iGAS, a rare complication which affects fewer than 20 children in Wales each year.

"Although iGAS is a worrying condition, the majority of these children will recover with proper treatment."

In an interview with BBC Wales, Mr Roap, 37, said his family is "traumatised" and "devastated".

He said his daughter came home from school on Thursday, 24 November with a mild cough. By the evening, her cough had got worse.

As she was struggling to sleep, he gave her an antihistamine and her inhaler in the hope that she would feel better if she "slept it off".

However Hanna's condition had not improved when the family awoke, so her father took her to the GP, who prescribed steroids.

Mr Roap said: "My gut instinct is if she had antibiotics she would have been OK, but I'm not a medical professional, so I took what the GP said".

At about 20:00 GMT that day, Mr Roap had left for work when his wife Salah called him to say Hanna had stopped moving.

He rushed back and called an ambulance.

"I started doing CPR here but I wasn't able to revive her," he said, looking over at his daughter's bed.

Within half an hour of the ambulance arriving, Hanna had been pronounced dead.

"I don't have all the information to hand so I can't pass judgment. I hope that everything is examined and checked correctly," he said.

"I just want peace of mind that everything was done correctly. If it was, then I can't blame anyone."

The community in Penarth has rallied around to support the family.

The headteacher of Victoria Primary School, where Hanna was a pupil, has visited the family.

A large number of people came to her funeral on Friday, which Mr Roap said reflected how much his daughter was loved.

"They didn't come for us, they came for her," he said.

"She was a bubbly character who was always up to mischief and it is dead silence now in the house.

"We have to remember her in the right way, but at the same time we've got to move forward with our hurt."

Following the death, a procedural review of unexpected death in childhood will be taking place.

Public Health Wales has written to schools and nurseries in Wales to raise awareness of the symptoms and potential complications of scarlet fever following a rise of cases of scarlet fever across the UK.

An alert has also been sent to GPs, children's doctors and emergency wards to notify public health of any new cases.

Dr Rowena Christmas, who chairs the Royal College of GPs in Wales, said Strep A was common among children and will, on average, be present "harmlessly" in about a quarter of children.

"The tricky thing is, the way it presents initially is the same way that lots and lots of children are at the moment with those snotty, viral bugs," said Dr Christmas.

She said that there had been a decrease in cases of Strep A during the pandemic, probably due to increased emphasis on good hygiene and lack of contact with others.

"We're careful with prescribing antibiotics because if we prescribe too many they'll be resistant, so we usually only prescribe them when we're really, really sure there's a bacterial infection.

"I think my threshold for prescribing them is definitely going to be a little bit lower in the next few weeks."

Dr Christmas, a GP in Monmouth, added that her practice has been "phenomenally busy" in recent weeks, adding: "I've certainly seen lots of small, hot, not very well little children.

"The things that parents should be aware of is if they see their child working harder with their breathing, or if they're not eating or drinking well, or if their behaviour is different so they're lethargic or miserable, those are the sorts of things that we'd be worried about and want to see".