The first case of death by streptococcus A in Greece was announced by the National Public Health Organization (EODY) on Monday (Greece time).
The national health agency said that it was informed by Ippokrateio Thessaloniki hospital of the death of a six-year-old girl on Monday, February, AMNA reported.
EODY has logged the incident with the European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control (ECDC) and stated that “this is the first case of death by streptococcus A, following the sharp rise of cases reported in Europe, and epidemiological data does not indicate there is concern for the country’s public health,” the Greek agency said.
The girl was intubated by ambulance paramedics and transported to the hospital after having developed high fever for two days which kept rising until the child developed shortness of breath and suffered a cardiac arrest.
The National Public Health Organization was informed the girl suffered septic shock.
As stated by ECDC by EODY the blood culture revealed the invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS – Streptococcus pyogenes) found in the recent outbreak of cases in the UK and other European countries.
The EODY has sent recommendations for the appropriate protective measures and the therapeutic treatment of such incidents and is alert for the early identification of cases.
This is the first death from strep A since the outbreak in Europe, and epidemiological data do not indicate a public health concern in the country, EODY stressed in its announcement.
