When she was four years old, Mia Wilkinson, a girl from Queensland, became a quadriplegic after she contracted streptococcal A.
She contracted other illnesses, such as respiratory syncytial virus and influenza A.
After the invasive nature of streptococcal septicaemia, she developed sepsis.
According to Amy Wilkinson, Mia had flu and gastric symptoms before she was admitted to the hospital.
Two days later, she was placed on life support. She almost died during the course of her stay in the hospital.
According to her mother, Amy Wilkinson, Mia’s organs were failing.
Her hands and feet were also dying. She contracted streptococcus A, which can cause minor illnesses such as tonsilitis and strep throat.
Around the world, about 500,000 people die annually due to septicaemia caused by streptococcal disease.
A professor of medicine at Griffith University noted that a small number of people get post-strepococcal diseases, which can attack multiple organs and cause serious illnesses.
For the past 15 years, Good and his team have been working on a vaccine against streptococcus A. After extensive testing, they are now ready to start human trials later this month.
If the vaccine is successful, it would be the first of its kind in the world. Amy Wilkinson is hopeful that it could prevent other children from experiencing the same fate that her daughter did.