Strep A: Mum warns of symptoms after child's illness

Strep A symptoms can look similar to cold and flu symptoms at first

A mother is warning other parents to be aware of the symptoms of Strep A infections after both her daughters came down with the disease.

Joanne Jones, from Llandudno, Conwy county, initially thought her daughter had a chest infection.

"If something doesn't seem right, go straight to the doctor," Ms Jones warned after she had to wait over nine hours in A&E for treatment.

Conwy County Council said it was advising parents through schools.

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Joanne's eight-year-old daughter became extremely poorly with Strep A

Ms Jones' daughter developed scarlet fever as a result of her Strep A infection.

Ms Jones said: "My daughter started off with a cough, which got worse, I thought she maybe had a chest infection.

"Then it turned into some kind of sickness bug, so I thought she had one of those 24-hour things.

"But after four days of hardly eating, I knew it wasn't just a bug. At times she seemed OK. Then her temp would spike to 40 degrees."

Ms Jones described how her daughter's skin would go red and felt extremely hot. Her cough also worsened as days went by and she became very drowsy.

"She was leaning into me, falling asleep on the street.

"Then I noticed she had a rash like a strawberry on her tongue, and a rash came out on her cheeks, but it can also be on children's chest and back."

A pink-red rash on the tongue, chest or back is a symptom of scarlet fever

Ms Jones took her daughter to A&E and said she had to wait nine and a half hours before her daughter was seen, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

She was given a prescription for penicillin and her mother was advised to keep all her children off school.

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Ms Jones' youngest daughter aged three, also caught the infection and is being treated with antibiotics.

Speaking on behalf of Public Health Wales, Dr Graham Brown, consultant in communicable disease control, said: "Some children with cold and flu-like symptoms - sore throat, headache, fever - may be experiencing some of the early symptoms of scarlet fever, which also circulates at this time of year.

"These children will go on to develop scarlet fever-specific symptoms, including a fine pink-red rash that feels like sandpaper to touch, and parents should contact their GP.

"The best thing that parents can do is to provide the care they would usually provide for a child with cold and flu-like symptoms, but to familiarise themselves with the symptoms of scarlet fever and iGAS as a precaution."

Conwy County Council said: "As this subject has been in the national media over recent weeks, we have shared Public Health Wales' guidance about streptococcal disease with all our schools."

Joanne's daughter is being treated with antibiotics