Strep A infection leaves Melbourne baby fighting for life in a coma
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An 18-month-old girl is lucky to be alive after a mysterious infection, which a GP thought was “just a cold”, put her in a coma for three days as her body threatened to “shut down”.
Melbourne parents Lyndal and Ben MacArthur shared the heartbreaking story of how their young daughter Hadley contracted a deadly new strain of the invasive group A strep virus, better known as strep A, late last year.
Ms MacArthur recounted the nightmarish experience in a lengthy Facebook post, expressing the hope that it would “spread some awareness of what to look for and the early warning signs of this horrible, life-threatening bacterial infection.”
She says Hadley, who had just started nursery school, began to suffer from a persistent fever, which Panadol was unable to quell on November 4 last year.
A GP assured Ms MacArthur that despite Hadley’s throat being very red, “she most likely had a virus” and that anxious parents should monitor her but wait it out.
Melbourne parents Lyndal and Ben MacArthur shared the heartbreaking story of how their young daughter Hadley contracted a deadly new strain of the Invasive Group A Streptococcus virus, better known as Strep A, late last year (pictured at hospital )
Ms MacArthur, however, said that “this time she just felt different” and although Hadley seemed to be in her normal state for the rest of the afternoon around dinner time, her fluid and food intake decreased markedly and began to vomit.
The couple called Victoria’s Virtual Emergency Department (VVED), a 24-hour public telehealth service, and a pediatric doctor “took a look at Hadley via video call and told us to call an ambulance.”
“In fact, I think if Hadley had been in bed that night, they would have found a dead baby in the morning,” said VVED doctor Loren Sher. channel seven.
The family arrived at Monash Children’s Hospital shortly after midnight, and in the early hours Hadley seemed to be on the mend and was eating and drinking again.
However, by mid-morning the next day, Hadley was experiencing severe diarrhea and had become irritable, confused and sleepy even when pumped with fluids.
“We noticed that her hands and feet turned very cold and purple and her chest turned a mottled purple color with her capillary refill test in about 8-10 seconds,” Ms. MacArthur said.
‘It was getting harder and harder to breathe.
‘Her heart wasn’t coping and her body was shutting down. She was critical.
“Her little body had gone into severe septic shock from what they thought was some kind of bacterial infection in her blood.”
Lyndal MacArthur (pictured with Hadley) has written a vivid account on social media of her baby’s harrowing fight for survival.
Hadley, who had just started kindergarten, began to suffer from a persistent fever, which Panadol was unable to quell on November 4 last year.
With Hadley’s blood pressure plummeting and her fingers and toes rapidly discoloring, the decision was made to put the distraught girl in a coma and intubate her in intensive care.
“What we thought was going to be a 15 minute wait ended up being over two and a half hours,” said Ms. MacArthur.
“You could hear the machines and various alarms in the other room and lots of people moving around, our hearts sank to the floor. We will never forget him.
“Going back to that room was the hardest thing we’ve ever done.
“We walked into a scene that no parent should have to experience, our little angel had numerous tubes and wires attached to her.
“And the sound of the fan is something that will always stay with us.”
Doctors told the couple that they had nearly lost Hadley but that she had stabilized.
“It was an up and down two weeks, she had one complication after another,” said Ms. MacArthur.
One particular area of concern was Hadley’s left leg and foot, which suffered reduced blood flow and will require further surgery and rehabilitation.
“Our little fighter defied all the odds and is here with us today,” said Ms. MacArther.
“She is smiling and laughing again and despite problems with her left foot, she is still determined to get back on her feet before the illness and learn to walk.”
Step A is bacteria found in the throat and on the skin and commonly causes sore throats.
However, it can develop into a serious infection known as invasive group A strep disease, or iGAS, which poisons the blood.
University of Melbourne senior professor of bacteriology Mark Davies said a new variant of strep A, M1UK, had recently been discovered in the UK.
The new strain, which increases the rate of scarlet fever and iGAS, has been detected in Australia.
Hadley made it through the emergency but will need further operations and rehabilitation on her left foot, which suffered restricted blood flow.
Warning signs of invasive group A strep disease include vomiting, fever, shortness of breath, and a rapidly spreading skin infection. Pictured: Mrs. MacArthur and baby Hadley
“We have to be vigilant… in relation to identifying any variants that we see coming into Australia,” Professor Davies told Seven News.
Invasive Step A cases in Australia have skyrocketed from 224 cases in 2021 to 1,182 in 2022.
Warning signs of invasive group A strep disease include vomiting, fever, shortness of breath, and a rapidly spreading skin infection.
Ms MacArthur urged other parents to be vigilant if their children show these signs.
“Parents are told it’s just a virus, that it can show up very soon,” Ms MacArthur said.
“But the hospital staff told us that they would rather the parents show up multiple times than it be too late.
“And remember, you know your child best and you can ALWAYS advocate for them if you’re concerned.”
“We are very glad we trusted our instincts as they were right and they also had professionals around us who did not dismiss our concerns.”