A four-year-old girl who has been fighting for her life after contracting deadly Strep A is no longer on a ventilator.
Camila Rose Burns - dubbed the "the poorliest girl in the whole of England" - is now breathing on her own after being struck down by the infection a week ago.
She remains in intensive care and is still receiving dialysis and extra oxygen, as well as other meds, as her body tries to recover.
It comes as nine children have died from illnesses connected to the infection since September, with a surge in cases compared with last year.
Brave Camila is not yet clear of the bug and is also still suffering the effects of sepsis.
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Image:
Sky News)Image:
Sky News)Mum and dad Kaye and Dean have said their daughter remains "extremely poorly" and they are hoping for the best.
The couple haven't left Camila's side since she was admitted to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.
They told Bolton News: “As you can imagine being off the ventilator is a massive improvement, but she is still extremely poorly.
“We have still not made it to the ‘safety’ of being out of intensive care.
“We are praying for her to continue to get better and for her body to recover so she can get back to playing at home with her family."
A GoFundMe page - set up by auntie Laura Daniels - has already raised nearly £22,000 in order to help the girl's parents at her side 24/7.
Camila had initially been prescribed an inhaler and sent home after complaining of her chest hurting.
However, she quickly deteriorated and ended up in intensive care.
Dean previously said hospital staff had described her as "the poorliest girl in the whole of England" and said he had been "living in an absolute nightmare".
He said his daughter had gone from dancing with her friends two Fridays ago to feeling "a little under the weather" that Sunday before going to hospital.
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)After she was finally admitted, Dean described how she needed life-saving intervention.
"We shouted some nurses down and we had to leave the room," he told Sky News.
"They put her to sleep and she’s been on a ventilator ever since, keeping her alive. It's the worst thing that can ever happen to anybody."
Group A Streptococcus is a group of bacteria which can cause a range of illnesses such as scarlet fever.
Most cases of Strep A infections are mild and can easily be treated with antibiotics.
In very rare cases, Strep A can get past a body's immune system and lead to iGAS, which can be deadly.
