4 child deaths in B.C. linked to aggressive form of strep
B.C. health authorities are warning that group A strep was identified in four children who have died since mid-December, and the province is seeing unusually high levels of the disease this winter.
![4 child deaths in B.C. linked to aggressive form of strep](https://i.cbc.ca/1.4036391.1671147802!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/evolving-strep.jpg)
![This handout image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows an electron microscope image of Group A Streptococcus (orange) during phagocytic interaction with a human neutrophil (blue). The same bacteria that cause simple strep throat sometimes trigger bloodstream or even flesh-eating infections instead, and over the years, dangerous cases have increased. Now researchers have uncovered how some strains of this bug evolved to become more aggressive. An electron microscope image shows group A streptococcus during phagocytic interaction with a human neutrophil.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.4036391.1671147802!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/evolving-strep.jpg)
B.C. health authorities are warning that group A strep was identified in four children who have died since mid-December, and the province is seeing unusually high levels of the disease this winter.