Hanna Roap: 7-yr-old dies of Strep A infection, father says right treatment would have saved her life
CARDIFF, WALES: The heartbroken father of 7-year-old Hanna Roap, who died from a Group A Strep infection that has been spreading amongst children of the United Kingdom, has issued a warning to other parents. Hassan Roap believes that with the right treatment, his daughter could have been saved. She died within 24 hours of being infected.
The Sun reports that it all began with just a mild bug and a cough that was going around among children in her primary school. Hassan Roap spoken to the media and said that the death of his daughter has made him feel "numb". He administered her CPR before emergency medical services arrived. Hassan believes that she could have been saved if she was given antibiotics.
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Hassan said, “She was a bubbly character who was always up to mischief and it is dead silence now in the house." Hanna had come home with a cough after school, only for it to progressively get worse. Her parents gave her an inhaler and some antihistamine to help her sleep. But the next day, her condition worsened and she was given steroids prescribed by the GP. "I'm not a medical professional, so I took what the GP said," Hassan added.
Hassan then administered CPR when she stopped moving later in the evening, in hopes of making it work and saving her life, while the medics showed up after. However, the efforts were in vain as the little girl was pronounced dead within 30 minutes. Now, Hassan is warning other parents that it could have been avoided if she was given antibiotics. "I just want peace of mind that everything was done correctly. If it was, then I can't blame anyone," he added. It is informed that a review will take place in Hanna’s case to assess her untimely death.
As of now, eight children have died from the infection, each of them less than 10 years of age. The Group A Streptococcal is a bacteria that is mostly found on the throat or the skin. It is extremely rare but also very dangerous and contagious. Some of the symptoms are sore throat, scarlet fever, rashes and swollen neck glands. Another commonly observed symptom is a rash that could be mistaken for sunburn.