Strep A and Covid

[wondersun]

Children have been repeatedly infected and exposed to covid for what seems like forever now

Two years ago they had some months remote learning, more than half of which were spring/summer months

After repeat covid infections, with a virus which is known to damage immune systems, we see a FIVE FOLD increase in Strep A bacterial infections and an alarming increase in deaths (6 child deaths in this winter so far, compared with an average of 1/2 in an average winter)

Media full of headlines linking this rise to lockdowns 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

No mention of the immune damaging virus that the government has allowed to let rip in unmitigated schools. The virus which is STILL ripping through schools

No mention of the fact that the biggest increase in strep A is in our largely unvaccinated under 10 population

No attempt made to explain away the obvious links to covid; it’s surreal, covid is just not mentioned

Its still a new virus, even without the increasing body of evidence re damage to people’s immune systems, you’d think the ongoing airborne pandemic would rate a mention…

And there is so much we could be doing to protect children and keep their world’s open but the government is doing nothing, if anything they seem to actually be pro-infection

Its just 🤯🤯🤯 and 😡😡😡

errr...it is mentioned?!? it's being linked to lockdowns where fewer children were exposed to strep A in last few years hence why we are getting an outbreak and so more kids becoming symptomatic now? deaths are 1 less in the same period compared to the last big outbreak on 20017/18?

Children not being exposed to viruses during the vital formation of their immune system is a dangerous thing.

Lockdowns have damaged childrens immune systems more than covid would have.

This.

But this is not true. Having had covid impairs our immune systems. There is loads of evidence of this.

@MooseAndSquirrelLoveFlannel @TheyreOnlyNoodlesMichael
Nope, it's not the lockdowns, it's the COVID. It destroys your T cells which are vital for your immunity. So we're seeing more serious cases because our immunity is shot. Your immune system is not a muscle that needs strengthening through regular infection. Not getting ill is good for you.

Our children would all be much healthier if they didn't go through school picking up every virus going, and having ventilation and HEPA filters as standard in classes would help achieve that.

Children have been mixing for ages since lockdown so have had ample time to be exposed to this very common virus . Besides some of the children that have died are old enough to have been mixing pre pandemic. The hypothesis that they haven't mixed so haven't been exposed to it is a complete red herring and a constant mantra put out by the government to cover the fact that they allowed all our children to be exposed to covid19. I agree that the link between covid19 exposure and the upsurge in strep A should be investigated and not dismissed as covid19 infection has a profound and long lasting impact on the immune system you only have to look at the 2.5 million people suffering with long covid. There have also been cases of patients suffering from covid19 and strep A at the same time Google it.

How can anyone on here possibly say either way whether it’s the lack of exposure due to lockdowns, or lower immunity due to covid. How do some people go around with such certainty about it either way? Can you not cope with the feeling of not being sure about things? There were outbreaks where sadly children died prior to covid and lockdowns.

MooseAndSquirrelLoveFlannel
TheyreOnlyNoodlesMichael

This isn't correct.

Is agree OP. My middle son caught covid as a young adult and had two hospital admissions in the following year for revolting tonsils. He had to really pace himself. Thank goodness he seems to be okay now but it really knocked out his immune system for a good year and a bit.

Well said. Just amazing how many experts in immunology that seem to populate this forum 🤔

There’s a difference between lockdowns mean there’s greater susceptible population because things haven’t been circulating and lockdowns damage the immune system though. We can rule the second out because that’s not how the immune system works and it is implausible.

Repeated covid infections damaging the immune system, greater population susceptibility, previously unidentified lung damage from covid, collapsing healthcare system, concurrent infections or maybe something else entirely all possibilities though.

There’s actually quite a lot of evidence that covid impacts on the immune system. I cba to search through everything but here’s a rather old
example reporting on some research. A quick
google will throw up a lot more www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/even-mild-covid-cases-can-have-lasting-effects-on

I’ve been quite surprised by the number of people who know about the effects of covid on the immune system on MN today. Not quite sure why I’m surprised but it’s not something I’ve seen in the media often. You normally have to go looking for it.

I haven’t said that covid doesn’t have an impact on the immune system. I don’t need convincing, so no need to hunt down links.

what I am saying is how do people go about declaring with such certainty that this outbreak MUST be caused by covid reducing immunity or MUST be caused by lockdowns reducing exposure? I have no idea either way, it must be great to feel so certain of such things.

Errrr many holes in what you’ve just said

They are comparing the deaths for the WHOLE winter season with the deaths SO FAR this year, a lot of which were this week

Linking the outbreak to children working at home for a few months a couple of years ago is not the same as linking to covid (you know the virus that has been shown to damage immune systems)

Really sorry to hear that Sindonym, hope he’s better now.

Cant believe covid didn’t even rate a mention in the mail today - it was like someone had found and replaced all “covid”s with “lockdown”.

The ongoing global airborne pandemic not even considered a possibility. That’s just weird.

Average year 1/2 child deaths and we’ve had five times that, pretty much in the last week.

Thank you everyone commenting questioning the absurdity of it all too, echoing all these thoughts in my head.

Yet the press don’t think it rates a mention.

It’s like we don’t have independent news… just narratives filtered down from the government…

And yet you’re equally certain that lockdown exacerbating it should be dismissed? How are you so sure either way?

Nurseries didn’t even restrict numbers??

A few months of remote learning?

Im sorry but that’s just nonsense. It’s not how immune systems work. 5 TIMS more STREP A and five times more deaths. Already.

One thing that is probably adding to it (not covid or lockdown) is the department of education’s insistence that children attend school sick, the letters I’ve seen from schools downplaying all illness is sickening.

I’m just as suspicious of someone minimising the effects of lockdown as I am of someone minimising the effects of covid. Why are you so sure that lockdowns haven’t had any effect? It’s just as possible as covid reducing immunity. Or maybe it’s both elements working together? Or neither?

Can’t be arsed with this ignorant shit.
Do you any concept of how much money it would cost to fit schools with bloody HEPA filtration? then you’d have to maintain it otherwise it’s worse than useless.
I would far rather this money was spent on mitigating the effects on children of that bloody lockdown. We through them to the wolves physically and mentally, there was always going to be fallout.

Do you want us to be like China now, op? Sealing people into buildings? If you think covid infection has caused this, and I couldn't say either way, why would this be the government's fault? Covid is out there and we are all going to catch it many times. If vaccines stopped people catching it, we wouldn't have such high covid rates still

It may be covid and it may be lockdown to blame but I just want to point out - it’s not just the actual time off school is it. We had almost two full years of social distancing, masks, obsessive hand washing.

www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-update-on-scarlet-fever-and-invasive-group-a-strep
"There were 851 cases reported in week 46, compared to an average of 186 for the preceding years.
Scarlet fever is usually a mild illness, but it is highly infectious. Therefore, look out for symptoms in your child, which 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 have a sandpapery feel. Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you suspect your child has scarlet fever, because early treatment of scarlet fever with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of complications such as pneumonia or a bloodstream infection. If your child has scarlet fever, keep them at home until at least 24 hours after the start of antibiotic treatment to avoid spreading the infection to others.
Scarlet fever is caused by bacteria called group A streptococci. These bacteria also cause other respiratory and skin infections such as strep throat and impetigo.
In very rare occasions, the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause an illness called invasive Group A strep (iGAS). While still uncommon, there has been an increase in invasive Group A strep cases this year, particularly in children under 10. There were 2.3 cases per 100,000 children aged 1 to 4 compared to an average of 0.5 in the pre-pandemic seasons (2017 to 2019) and 1.1 cases per 100,000 children aged 5 to 9 compared to the pre-pandemic average of 0.3 (2017 to 2019) at the same time of the year.
So far this season there have been 5 recorded deaths within 7 days of an iGAS diagnosis in children under 10 in England. During the last high season for Group A Strep infection (2017 to 2018) there were 4 deaths in children under 10 in the equivalent period.
Investigations are also underway 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.
Currently, there is no evidence that a new strain is circulating. The increase is most likely related to high amounts of circulating bacteria and social mixing."

if you have a 5 times increase in incidence you will get a 5 times increase in serious side-effects won't you OP !!!! Rates of flu etc bottomed out during covid times and most of us had far fewer coughs and colds so it's kind of obvious that rates of everything will increase now most of us are back to normal routines?