Strep A: No 10 tells parents to look for signs of infection with reports of eighth death

Warning comes as health official says earlier start to cases in UK could be knock-on effect of pandemic

Downing Street has told parents to be on the lookout for signs of strep A infection after reports a primary-school pupil has become the eighth child to die in a matter of weeks.

On Monday, Alison Syred-Paul, headteacher at Morelands primary in Waterlooville, Hampshire, said: Very tragically, we have learned of the death in recent days of a child who attended our school, who was also diagnosed with an invasive Group A streptococcal (iGAS) infection."