MOSCOW, Dec 5 increased number of cases of streptococcal (group A) infection and death of seven children, the Daily Mail reported on Monday.
«Britain is experiencing a shortage of antibiotics, even as the country is facing an outbreak of streptococcal (group A) infection that has claimed the lives of seven children. Three drugs commonly used to treat the bacterium or symptoms that may be caused by other bacterial infections are in short supply.A Downing Street spokesman said on Monday that the country's health system was «well prepared» for a further rise in infections and had no knowledge of a shortage of the antibiotic amoxicillin used to treat the infection, the newspaper said.
However, according to According to the head of the British Association of Independent Pharmacies (AIMP), Leila Hannbeck, many pharmacists are faced with a shortage of antibiotics, and they have to inform parents that they cannot buy medicine for a child, according to the Daily Mail.
At the moment, several antibiotics, including one of the most important for the treatment of streptococcal (group A) infections, are in short supply, the newspaper notes. There is a shortage in the UK of one Penicillin antibiotic, Amoxicillin for children and Clarithromycin, an alternative antibiotic for people allergic to penicillin, according to the online drug tracker MIMS. The shortage is expected to last until the end of December, the article says.
In particular, the reason was the increase in seasonal diseases, and the situation may be exacerbated by new instructions for doctors from the UKHSA to issue a prescription in case of suspected streptococcal infection . Its first symptoms include a sore throat, fever and muscle pain, which could be mistaken for a cold, the newspaper said.
Last Friday, the UK Health Agency (UKHSA) reported five deaths in a week among children under 10 years due to a streptococcal (group A) infection in England, another girl died in Wales. Later it became known about the death of a 12-year-old child.