Flu nasal spray vaccine for children may reduce strep A risk

As reported by BBC News, a nasal spray vaccine that protects children against flu may also help protect against strep A infections, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says

It found that rates of strep A were lower in areas where the vaccine was offered to all primary-age children when it was first being used. Everyone eligible for a flu vaccine is urged to get one after a sharp rise in hospital admission levels last week. Children under five and the over-85s are the most vulnerable age groups.

There are unusually high rates of Group A strep infections in the UK at present, including scarlet fever and strep throat. Most are mild and easily treated, often with antibiotics, but occasionally the infection causes serious problems when it becomes invasive. There have been 18 confirmed deaths of children in the UK with this form of the infection since September – the highest since the winter of 2017-18.

The UKHSA study of data from 2013-17, which is not yet peer-reviewed, found that rates of strep infections were lower in areas where the flu vaccine was piloted – 73.5 per 100,000 children aged two to four years old – compared to areas where it was not offered as widely – 93 per 100,000 children.

There was no difference in the number of children reported to have scarlet fever or invasive group A strep (iGAS), however, the analysis said.

Parents of any primary school age children who have missed out on the nasal spray flu vaccine can still get it by contacting their GP surgery, school or local vaccination clinic.

The vaccine is free on the NHS for:

• children aged two or three years old on 31 August 2022
• all primary school children
• some secondary school-aged children
• children aged two to 17 years with long-term health conditions

This winter, the vaccine is also being offered to the youngest secondary school aged children in December and January.

“Children who catch influenza are at greater risk from subsequent infections, including group A strep, so these findings provide yet more reasons for parents of eligible children to bring them forward for the flu vaccine,” Dr Jamie Lopez Bernal, from UKHSA, said.