NEW data has uncovered the areas of England worst-hit by scarlet fever and invasive Strep A.
London and the North West have seen the highest number of scarlet fever cases this winter, data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows.
Meanwhile the South East and the South West have also seen high levels of invasive Strep A, which has claimed the lives of 36 children across the UK, so far this winter.
On Wednesday, Public Health Scotland (PHS) said a third child under the age of 10 had died after contracting the killer bug.
No new deaths have been recorded in England raising hopes that cases of Strep A may have peaked.
From tongue scraping to saying no, here are 12 health trends to try in 2023
However, medics at the UKHSA say the recent data should be interpreted with caution, warning more cases are possible.
In the 2017 to 2018 season, the last high season of the illness, there were 355 deaths in total, including 27 deaths in children under 18.
UKHSA data shows there have been 211 deaths across all age groups in England this winter - including 30 children under 18.
However, at present, the majority of cases are in those over the age of 45.
In most cases, Strep A bacteria causes mild illnesses, including strep throat, tonsillitis, and impetigo.
Strep A bacteria is also responsible for scarlet fever, as well as in rare cases, invasive Group Strep A disease which can prove deadly.
UKHSA data shows cases of scarlet fever are higher than normal this year.
A total of 38,429 notifications of scarlet fever have been logged from September 12 to January 15.
There was a pre-Christmas peak of 10,060 cases up to December 11 - compared to an average of 3,237 for the same time in the previous five years.
Experts predict that greater awareness of the condition, due to national alerts, may have resulted in more cases being reported.
Spectacular New Year fireworks light up London sky as huge crowds celebrate across UK for first time in three years
The last peak season for scarlet fever notifications was 2017 to 2018 when 30,768 reports were received across the entire season.
Dr Derren Ready, UKHSA incident director, said: "Although the number of scarlet fever notifications we are seeing each week is falling, the bacteria that cause the infection are still circulating at high levels.
"It's also not unusual to have a dip in the number of cases before the spring, so we could see infections rise again in the coming months."
The expert urged people to contact NHS 111 or your GP if you suspect you or your child have scarlet fever – with symptoms such as fever, sore throat, difficulty swallowing and a sandpapery rash.
"Early treatment of scarlet fever with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of a more serious infection and transmission to others.
"Children should stay off school or nursery and adults should stay off work for 24 hours after antibiotics have started."
Dr Ready added that it's not too late to take up the free flu and Covid jabs and The Sun has been urging readers to 'Do the Double' in our latest campaign to help protect the nation.
"We know that group A streptococcus infections can be more serious when combined with another infection including flu.
"Most winter illnesses can be managed at home and NHS.UK has information to help parents look after children with mild illnesses," Dr Ready added.
