Common infections ‘can increase stroke risk in children’

Common infections have been associated with a significantly higher chance of stroke in children in a new US study.

Presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2014, the research revealed that common infections – such as common colds and other upper respiratory infections – within the past week were linked to a sixfold increase in the risk of stroke.

However, the study also revealed that this risk can be countered through the use of commonly prescribed vaccines.

Children who had some, few or no routine vaccinations were 6.7 times more likely to have an ischaemic stroke than those receiving all or most vaccines, including those against polio, measles, mumps, rubella and pneumococcus.

Dr Nancy Hills, lead researcher and assistant professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, said: "The protective association of routine vaccination against childhood stroke provides a widely available means of prevention and this information can easily be dispersed by paediatric healthcare providers."

Every year, more than 150,000 people in England have a stroke, making it the third largest cause of death in the country.