Quintessence Henderson, 5, died on March 25, 2023, of complications of pneumonia and a Strep A infection (iGAS) (Photos via Christina Hecktus).
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Christina Hecktus is living every parent’s worst nightmare. Her daughter died suddenly on March 25 of complications of pneumonia and a Strep A infection (iGAS). She was only five years old.
Quintessence Henderson — Quin to her loved ones — “had a smile and a hug and a greeting for anybody,” Christina told Yahoo Canada.
“I have no words for how amazing this world would have been with her in it had she been able to be here.”
Earlier this month, Quintessence came down with a “run of the mill” cold. A few days later, she had a fever, but her parents, Christina and Kirk Henderson, were able to bring her temperature down with over-the-counter medication.
Christina Hecktus and Kirk Henderson took their 5-year-old daughter to the hospital on March 25. (Photo via Christina Hecktus).
Doctors told the Kitchener, Ont. parents their daughter likely had a “secondary cold” and the ER “may not be needed.” However, on March 25, Quintessence woke up with a raspy chest and shallow breathing, so they took her to the hospital.
‘In my brain, I’m like, we’re overreacting’
“It had never occurred to me that she was this sick,” Christina said. “I’m thinking they’re going to treat her with something for dehydration and maybe give her a puffer for her cough; nothing too serious. We’re overreacting. In my brain, I’m like, we’re overreacting.”
At the hospital, Quintessence took a turn for the worse and was diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis. Her pediatrician gave her a 50/50 chance of survival.
Quintessence Henderson “had a smile and a hug and a greeting for anybody.” (Photo via Christina Hecktus).
“That was the first time it really sunk in that she may not make it,” Christina said.
Within 12 hours of going to the hospital, Quintessence passed away.
‘It happened so fast’
“It happened so fast,” Christina said over the phone. “We lost our little girl.”
The following day, Public Heralth Ontario reached out for contact tracing. Quintessence’s bloodwork returned positive for an invasive Strep A infection — the same bacteria that led to a Hamilton, Ont. two-year-old’s death in early March.
What is Strep A?
Group A Strep (short for Group A streptococcus) is a common bacterial infection that grows inside the nose, throat and sometimes on the skin.
Group A Strep (GAS) tends to infect the upper respiratory tract, causing strep throat and sinus infections. However, it can also cause skin and soft tissue infections such as impetigo and cellulitis or scarlet fever.
What is invasive Group A streptococcus?
Group A Strep infections typically result in strep throat. GAS are called “non-invasive” because the infection is on the parts of the body that are exposed to the outside world, like the throat or skin, according to the government of Canada.
“Although Group A Strep can be easily treated with antibiotics, infections can become very dangerous if they become ‘invasive,'” says Irene Martin, the head of the Streptococcus and STI Unit at the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory.
“Group A Strep becomes invasive when it infects blood or internal body tissues, and it can cause illnesses such as meningitis or flesh-eating disease.”
Bloodwork later showed that Quintessence had invasive Group A streptococcal, an infection that killed at least three children in Canada late last year.
How does Strep A spread?
Strep A is highly contagious and easily spreads from person to person. GAS bacteria can spread through close contact with someone with strep, sharing food and drinks, or breathing in their respiratory droplets. As the bacteria transmits via person-to-person contact, it easily spreads among family or household members.
Strep throat is most common in children ages five to 15; however, anyone can get it.
What are symptoms of Strep A?
While symptoms vary depending on the type of infection, Health Canada says the main signs of non-invasive Group A streptococcus (GAS) include fever, a sore throat and mild skin conditions such as a rash, sores, bumps and blisters.
Invasive infections (iGAS) can include severe symptoms like trouble breathing (pneumonia), a breakdown of the skin and connective tissues (necrotizing fasciitis), a fever, a drop in blood pressure, vomiting and diarrhea (toxic shock syndrome).
Symptoms of GAS may include a fever, sore throat, and mild skin conditions such as a rash, sores, bumps and blisters (Getty).
Strep A cases rising in Canada
Some Canadian officials reported an uptick in invasive Group A streptococcus infections in Dec. 2022, echoing rising case numbers in the U.S. and Europe.
According to a Public Health Ontario report, the number of iGAS infections between October and November 2022 was “higher than the number of cases reported in this age group during the same months between the 2016-17 and 2019-20 seasons.”
As of Feb. 28, 2023, the “incidence rate is higher across all age groups in the current season.”
The rise in iGAS cases is likely linked to the increase in RSV and flu viruses hitting kids, the World Health Organization said in a December 2022 news release.
‘Don’t be afraid to take your kids in’
“I want parents not to feel that their concerns are not warranted, even if it’s a cough,” Christina said. “I didn’t want to be an inconvenience and because I didn’t want to be an inconvenience and I was following the rules, my little girl isn’t here anymore.”
“Don’t be afraid to take your kids in,” she said. “Just do it. If a healthy 5-year-old can turn in 12 hours, I don’t want anyone else to go through that.”
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
