A pharmacist can provide two more alternative penicillin drugs to make sure you have enough medicine to treat your Strep A case.
It comes as a case of scarlet fever. Streptococcus A Bacteria are three times faster than normal, causing temporary shortages for some chemists.
The SSP (Severe Shortage Protocol) now covers a total of five medicines, in addition to the three that were issued earlier this week, and one tablet is now on the Ministry of Health’s list.
This means that if the prescribed penicillin runs out of stock, the pharmacist can provide an alternative penicillin without the patient returning to the GP.
The SSP is a standard procedure for managing temporary supply problems, the health director said.
At least 19 children have died across the UK from invasive Strep A (also known as iGAS) is a more serious form of infection that invades parts of the body such as the lungs and bloodstream.
However, the majority of cases are easily treatable, relatively mild, and have common symptoms such as sore throat, rash, and fever.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Chief Medical Advisor, Professor Susan Hopkins, said the number of scarlet fever cases was “probably an underestimate”, with just over 7,500 cases being notified. Stated.
“We’ve had a lot of reports coming in over the last few days, so we expect it to be even higher,” she told the BBC’s Today program on Saturday.
“That’s about three times the same amount of time in a normal season,” she said.
read more:
What is Strep A and what are the symptoms of a bacterial infection?
Strep A is common and generally causes mild infections.
“The last bad season we’ve had in 2017 and 2018. Cases of invasive Group A Streptococcus are more than half of what you would normally see in an average season.
“We have seen 111 cases in children aged 1 to 4 years and 74 cases in children aged 5 to 9 years.”
Official statistics from the UKHSA for England and Wales show 1,702 cases of scarlet fever reported in the week ending 11 December, 1,352 in the week before, 1,044 in the week before, and 1,044 in the week before. 960 cases were reported in the week ending. Almost double the cases in a month.
The latest weekly number of iGAS cases was 15, up from 10 the previous week.
Emphasizing that most children have mild illnesses, Professor Hopkins said he was “open-minded” about why infections are so high.
Among other experts, Reduced immunity due to reduced mixing during COVID lockdown.
Parents are being urged to vaccinate their children with flu nasal spray because of the low incidence of Strep A cases in areas that have already deployed flu nasal spray.
Professor Hopkins said that people who get the flu are more likely to get secondary infections, and children who get the flu are often at higher risk of contracting Streptococcus A.
Children under school age can be vaccinated from their primary care physician, while school-aged children can be vaccinated through the school’s immunization service.
The SSP penicillin list includes:
- Phenoxymethylpenicillin 125mg/5ml oral solution
- Phenoxymethylpenicillin 125mg/5ml oral solution sugar-free
- Phenoxymethylpenicillin 250mg/5ml oral solution
- Phenoxymethylpenicillin 250mg/5ml oral solution sugar-free
- Phenoxymethylpenicillin 250mg tablet
