Thirteen people have died in a ‘very serious’ outbreak of an invasive Group A streptococcus in Essex, the NHS said.

Health bosses previously reported 12 deaths due to the spread of the rare bacterial infection, but an additional case has been added after Public Health England reviewed how cases are defined.

The bacteria can be found in the throat and on the skin – and people may carry it without displaying any symptoms.

It can live in throats and on hands for long enough to allow easy spread between people through sneezing, kissing and skin contact

There have been 34 reported cases of the disease and 13 patients have died, the NHS Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group said today.

In a statement, it said: ‘As part of the monitoring and risk assessments of this outbreak, Public Health England have further reviewed how cases are defined in this outbreak to ensure that all appropriate cases are captured and investigated.

‘As a result, an additional case has been added to the total outbreak count.

‘This patient passed away with sepsis earlier this year.

‘The case was previously not included in the iGAS count.’

Health chiefs said the outbreak started in Braintree and has since spread to the Chelmsford and Maldon areas, but did not give a timeline for this.

Most of those affected in the outbreak are elderly people who were receiving treatment for wounds, with some in care homes but most in their own homes.

One case was identified in Basildon in 2018 and one case in Southend in February 2019 but there does not appear to be a direct link between the cases in south Essex and mid Essex, health bosses said.

In a report, the clinical commissioning group said the ‘sometimes life-threatening GAS disease may occur when bacteria get into parts of the body where bacteria usually are not found, such as the blood, muscle, or the lungs’.

An incident management team has been established and has put ‘control measures… in place to limit the spread of this infection’.

These include a programme of preventative antibiotics for community nursing staff in mid Essex, a deep clean of community nursing bases and swabs being taken from adult patients treated by the teams to check for the bacteria.

WHAT IS STREP A?

Group A Streptococcus, abbreviated as GAS, is a bacteria found in the throat and on the skin.

Infections caused by it tend to be mild illnesses such as ‘strep throat’, which will cause soreness, or a skin condition such as impetigo which starts with red sores or blisters.

It can survive in throats and on hands for long enough to allow easy spread between people through sneezing, kissing and skin contact, and many carriers will have no symptoms.

On rare occasions, bacteria can cause other severe and even life-threatening diseases such as the invasive group A streptococcal disease.

This can occur when bacteria get into parts of the body where bacteria are not usually found, such as the blood, muscle, or the lungs.

It can happen if the bacteria get past a person’s defences, such as through an open wound or when a person’s immune system is depleted.

Most people who come into contact with the bacteria remain well and symptom-free.

Healthy people can get invasive group A streptococcal disease from a relative or a member of their household but it is very rare.

Early signs and symptoms of invasive group A streptococcal disease include high fever, severe muscle aches, localised muscle tenderness and redness at the site of a wound.

A Public Health England report of May this year said the median age of patients with group A streptococcal disease this season is 57.

It said the number of invasive group A streptococcal disease is lower than last season.

It cautions that clinicians should ‘continue to be mindful of potential increases in invasive disease and maintain a high index of suspicion in relevant patients’ as early recognition can be lifesaving.

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