THE death of a three-year-old boy from Strep A has prompted his heartbroken family to call for greater awareness of how quickly the bacterial infection can turn into fatal illness.
Theo Emm collapsed and died at his home in Westbury on Saturday, February 18 after falling seriously ill to the ‘silent killer’, having shown hardly any symptoms.
Parents Billy and Jody Emm are too distraught to talk but have urged other parents to seek medical advice or take action if they suspect their child is at risk.
Billy’s brother, Chris Emm, says Theo’s death has hit the family hard after the birth of his baby brother Oliver just days before.
“I’ve spoken to my brother and Jody and they said they didn’t feel they were able to talk about this as it’s still too raw for them," said Chris.
“Usually they would be okay about talking, but they just didn’t feel they could.
“They did say to me that they wanted more than anything to raise awareness and not for people to think it is a sob story to take pity on them.”
Chris says of Strep A: “This kind of condition in children is often called a ‘silent killer’ and it is very rare for children to die from it.
“In Theo’s case, there were no symptoms. He just collapsed on the Saturday morning and died.”
Chris works as a nurse in the accident and emergency department at Salisbury District Hospital.
He said Theo had been a “bit lethargic” the night before but had picked up by the time he had been put to bed.
“When he woke up on Saturday morning he wanted to watch the cartoons on TV so he was carried downstairs.
“Billy and Jody decided to phone 111 and while they were on the phone Theo just collapsed with a cardiac arrest.”
A Wiltshire Air Ambulance emergency response team arrived at the family’s Meadow Lane home within minutes of the call.
Paramedics carried out CPR on Theo for about half an hour but they were unable to revive him.
Theo’s sudden death came just a week after his baby brother Oliver had been born.
The family now treasure a photograph showing Theo holding Oliver in his arms.
Billy and Jody are looking into having counselling sessions to try to come to terms with Theo’s sudden death.
Chris says: “They are still trying to process what has happened but having a new child is helping a lot.”
He says that Billy, 29, and Jody, 31, wish to raise awareness of how quickly Strep A can become a ‘silent killer’.
Strep A symptoms are usually flu-like and can often consist of a high temperature, swollen glands or an aching body, a sore throat known as ‘strep throat’ or tonsillitis.
Sometimes, they can be accompanied by a rash that feels rough, like sandpaper (scarlet fever) scabs and sores (impetigo).
Strep throat typically resolves in three to five days if untreated but most doctors prescribe a short course of antibiotics to reduce the risk of complications.
Following antibiotic treatment, symptoms typically resolve within one to three days but Strep A can occasionally turn into a more serious and potentially deadly illness.
Mr Emm said: “Strep A has been around for years but unless you routinely swab a child you would never find it.”
Theo’s funeral will take place on Tuesday, March 21 at the West Wiltshire Crematorium at Semington.
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