Dartmouth boy, 6, died from invasive group A strep

A six-year-old boy from Dartmouth, N.S., has died after contracting an invasive strep A infection and his father is now encouraging other families to have their kids tested if they have a fever.

"If your child has a fever, check their temperature every half an hour. If it goes up by a point, take them in. It'll never ever not be worth it," said Randy Davis, the father of Jaydon Davis, a Grade 1 student who attended Admiral Westphal Elementary.

"The last thing you want to do is find it too late, because this stuff is so quick. It takes over so fast that you might as well find it right away."

Davis said Jaydon developed a mild fever on Sunday, March 3. He said it didn't seem too serious because he was up chasing his sisters around and ate supper. The next morning, he said Jaydon seemed well enough to go to school, however he came home with a fever. Davis said there was nothing out of the ordinary about his fever.

But by Tuesday, Davis said his son was vomiting, had the sweats and chills and his fever got more intense. He said they don't have a family doctor, so they booked a virtual care appointment and, after the doctor heard Jaydon cough, were prescribed a puffer.

At that point, Davis said, they hadn't gone to the hospital because he didn't want to put his son through a potentially hours-long wait only to be given a children's Advil and sent home.

"Sometime in the middle of the night on Tuesday, the group step A just attacked his body ... his mother found him in the morning and he was gone," Davis said.

According to Health Canada, invasive group A streptococcal disease occurs when the common strep A bacteria spreads to parts of the body where bacteria are not normally found, such as the blood, lungs, muscles, joints and bones, or the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

"If you're a parent and your toddler has a fever that's 101 degrees, take them to the emergency room. Take them in and treat it as if they have group strep A and wait until the IWK tells you that it isn't," Davis said. "It'll never not be worth it to go."

Davis said it's not clear how his son contracted strep A.

Nova Scotia Health told CBC News that close contacts were identified and those with significant connections have been offered antibiotics. It isn't considered an outbreak because there haven't been additional cases connected to it, Nova Scotia Health said.

On Monday, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia Health confirmed the death in a statement, but did not release a name or age.

"Approximately two weeks ago, there was a tragic death of a young individual in our province with invasive group A streptococcal," said Jennifer Lewandowski.

Davis said the community, including Jaydon's school, have been very supportive to the family. He said grief counselors were sent to the school and students wrote messages and drew pictures. He said those gestures have meant a lot. He said they also set up an online fundraiser for funeral expenses and to ease some of the financial strain.