A community grieved the death of an 8-year-old girl Friday after she battled a strep infection.
The girl, a third-grade student at Southwest Licking's Pataskala Elementary, died Friday at Nationwide Children's Hospital of the bacterial infection strain known as Group A Streptococcal, or GAS.
Southwest Licking Schools Superintendent Forest Yocum said that the girl was out of school sick for a few days and he became concerned when he had not heard from the girl's family and checked in with the Licking County Health Department.
Yocum said that the school was notifying parents of the girl's death on Friday, 10 TV's Tanisha Mallett reported.
GAS bacteria are typically found in the throat or on the skin, and can be carried without detection, 10TV News reported.
The health department said that the bacteria can target the blood stream and lungs, causing the individual to become very ill. The United States sees between 1,000 and 1,800 deaths caused by GAS every year, Mallett reported.
According to the Licking County Health Commissioner, other students at Pataskala Elementary were not at risk.
The community planned to hold a vigil at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Mallett reported.
School officials said that they encouraged people to wear green, the girl's favorite color.
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