Strep A: Parents of four-year-old girl 'praying' she comes back home alive

ITV News' Sejal Karia reports on the Strep A outbreak as the UKHSA reports six children have now died as a result of the infection

The parents of a four-year-old girl who is fighting for her life in hospital with a Strep A infection have said they are "praying" she returns home alive.

Camila Rose Burns is in critical care on a ventilator at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. She has been receiving treatment since Monday.

Her parents, Dean Burns and Kaye Daniels, told ITV News they're living in "constant terror" as they await updates on their daughter's medical condition.

Health experts are now investigating cases of Strep A infection after the deaths of six young children and a rise in cases.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there had been a rise in rare invasive Group A strep this year, particularly in children under 10, with five deaths of under-10s in England since September.

A separate case has been reported in Wales, taking the known UK total to six.

Ms Daniels said: "It’s mostly just absolute terror... [we're] terrified of them calling us in and saying... I can’t even say it, but the worst I just need her to come home.

"It’s just a constant terror. A black cloud hanging over you"

The couple said they first noticed Camila displaying mild sickness symptoms last Saturday, before her mum initially decided to take her to hospital on Sunday morning.

Camila's parents told ITV News they are "terrified" of receiving a call from the hospital treating their four-year-old daughter

But they returned home after being prescribed an inhaler and advised by doctors that Camila was just suffering from a "wheeze" brought about by a viral infection.

On Sunday, Camila's condition continued to deteriorate and by Monday she was rushed to hospital.

Ms Daniels explained how Camila's father had woke up early that morning to check on her only to find his daughter "just lying there, hallucinating [and] burning up".

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Since being admitted to hospital Camila has made "improvements" but her mother said doctors "still can’t say that she’s okay".

Camila's parents are now urging others to be wary of any potential symptoms of Strep A, which has officially killed six children across England and Wales in recent weeks.

Ms Daniels said any parent should not "doubt yourself if you think your kid [is] ill".

Earlier, health officials confirmed a youngster from St John’s School in Ealing, west London, had died from Strep A, while the parents of a four-year-old boy from Buckinghamshire confirmed he had died from Strep A.

The four-year-old from Buckinghamshire has been named locally as Muhammad Ibrahim Ali.

The Bucks Free Press newspaper said he died at his home in High Wycombe on November 14 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

A pupil from Victoria primary school in Penarth, four miles south of Cardiff, also died. Last week, a six-year-old died after an outbreak of the same infection at a school in Surrey.

Group A strep bacteria can cause many different infections, ranging from minor illnesses to deadly diseases.

The range of illnesses includes the skin infection impetigo, scarlet fever and strep throat.

While the vast majority of infections are relatively mild, sometimes the bacteria cause a life-threatening illness called invasive Group A Streptococcal disease.