Kitchener mom warns parents about Group A strep infection rise after daughter dies

A Kitchener mom whose daughter died of complica‐ tions from invasive Group A streptococcus is warn‐ ing about the rare conse‐ quences of the bacterial in‐ fection, which has been circulating in Ontario at rates not seen in nearly a decade.

Quin Henderson, 5, was home from school with a cough and a fever in the days before her death March 25.

Christina Hecktus says no one seemed to pick up on the fact her daughter's symp‐ toms might be something more than a bad cold.

"I did everything that I was told to do. I called the doctor, I called 811. I did all those things that a mother or a par‐ ent would do in this situation and was told multiple times: it's not necessarily needed [to take her to the doctor]," said Hecktus.

Earlier on the day Quin died, her parents had decided to take her to an emergency department in Kitchener. The family says she was admitted "in less than 15 minutes," put on oxygen, and given intra‐ venous (IV) fluids and antibi‐ otics while blood was drawn and X-rays were done.

Quin was diagnosed with pneumonia. That afternoon, she was transferred to Mc‐ Master Children's Hospital in

Hamilton, where she was found to be septic — meaning the infection from harmful bacteria had become seri‐ ous — from invasive Group A strep in her blood.

Quin died just 12 hours af‐ ter they had taken her to the ER in Kitchener.

Now, Hecktus says she wants to shield others from the pain her family has en‐ dured.

"I don't ever want some‐ body to feel like they didn't do enough for their child, like I did. I don't blame anybody — because blame doesn't do anything for anybody — but I want to inform."

What makes this strep 'invasive'?

In Group A streptococ‐ cus, common bacteria live on the nose and skin, and in the throat. It can cause minor in‐ fections like strep throat and affect the skin in the form of cellulitis.

It becomes "invasive"

when the bacteria gets into a sterile bacteria-free area, ex‐ plains David Aoki, director of infectious disease at Region of Waterloo Public Health.

"Invasive means it's gotten beyond that first line of de‐ fence and it ends up some‐ where it shouldn't; so either a blood infection or something else that can be more serious. It's a very rare complication, but it does occur."

WATCH: Dr. Jeffery Per‐ nica speaks on Group A strep infections and what parents should keep in mind:

Although rare, invasive Group A streptococcus infec‐ tions are on the rise: globally, across Canada and in Water‐ loo region, specifically.

In the region, there have been 21 infections between January and the end of April; there were 25 infections in all of 2022.

Five of the 21 people diag‐ nosed with invasive Group A strep in 2023 died — the high‐ est number since 2014.

In Ontario, pre-pandemic, the five-year average was about 550 cases over the course of a cold and flu sea‐ son, according to numbers from Public Health Ontario. For the 2022/2023 flu season, there have been about 900 cases — a spike of 63 per cent.

In Quebec, infections in‐ creased 56 per cent over a similar period, according to data collected by the province's Ministry of Health and Social Services.

Doctors alerted, not public

Public Health Ontario is concerned about the in‐ creased spread, said Dr. Liane Macdonald, one of the agency's public health physi‐ cians. Catching the infection early can be tricky, but healthcare providers do know what to look for, Macdonald said.

"This is one of the really difficult challenges with inva‐ sive Group A streptococcal disease, because it's caused by a really common bacteria that has milder forms of ill‐ ness that can mimic viral in‐ fections certainly," she said.

"But there are certain char‐ acteristics that trained healthcare providers are aware of and can help them to think about a potential bacterial in‐ fection with Group A strepto‐ coccal disease."

Region of Waterloo Public Health issued an advisory to local doctors about spread in the community three days af‐ ter Quin's death, confirmed Aoki. But while a public alert was made after just two deaths in Montreal, a public alert has not yet been made in Waterloo region.

Aoki said public health weighs a variety of factors be‐ fore making a public alert. Those factors include how an infection is spreading, if cases are linked and how local rates compare to provincial num‐ bers.

"There's no, 'Oh, you hit X number of cases and it means we're sending out an adviso‐ ry,'" said Aoki. "We're con‐ stantly looking for those trends to see where we should be alerting. That's an ongoing process for us."

Hecktus said she can't help but wonder if her daugh‐ ter's death led to the alert.

"That is their scope. That is their domain. If public health had said something, I feel like it should be the doctor's re‐ sponsibility to be aware."

But she remains focused on educating other parents about the risks.

"I'm not the kind of person to do 'shoulda coulda woul‐ da.' That's not the kind of per‐ son I am. But I don't want anyone else to deal with this if I can help prevent it," said Hecktus. "I want to inform and give people the knowl‐ edge so that they can make those decisions themselves and they don't feel like they never had the choice or the options."

Group A streptococcus has been in the headlines recently after 15 kids died in the U.K. Dr. Joanne Langley, a Halifax pediatrician specializing in in‐ fectious diseases, discussed what guardians and adults should know about this bac‐ teria that can cause a range of illnesses.

LISTEN | Dr. Joanne Lan‐ gley, a Nova Scotia pediatri‐ cian, dispels Group A strep myths:

At McMaster Children's Hospital, Dr. Jeffrey Perni‐ ca said he has seen more cas‐ es of invasive Group A strep this year and his colleagues across Canada are noticing it as well.

"I don't think there's any‐ thing special that parents need to do," he told CBC News. "I think a lot of parents are worried that they're going to miss things and I do not think that they will.

"The reasons to go to the emergency department now are the same as that they al‐ ways were: difficulty breath‐ ing, not being able to keep liq‐ uids down, severe pain, not being responsive. Those are the reasons to go now — but those have always been the reasons. And so I am confi‐ dent that parents in our re‐ gion are going to continue to do the same good job they've always done."

Public health says the peo‐ ple who are most at risk are kids under four and adults over 65 and people who are pregnant or have recently giv‐ en birth.

And while there is no vac‐ cine for invasive Group A stre‐ tococcal disease, Macdonald reminds people that chicken pox vaccines can decrease the odds of children contracting the invasive bacterial infec‐ tion.