Nicola Sturgeon revealed alternative antibiotics may have to be found to treat Strep A as a supply alert was issued while cases soar.
The first minister said there had been a “sharp increase” in demand for drugs to treat infections.
Public Health Scotland confirmed there are 31 serious cases of Strep A north of the border, with 13 children under 10 testing positive.
But there were 967 laboratory reports of more mild Strep A up to December 11.
This compares with 300 to 480 reports per week during peaks since 2016.
Public Health Scotland insists the more serious Strep A infections remain stable in Scotland and similar to previous years.
Tragically the virus has killed a total of 16 children across the UK, sparking panic among parents in Tayside and Fife.
In Holyrood on Thursday, Ms Sturgeon defended the SNP Government’s approach to tackling the the rise in infections and said medicine supply was the responsibility of Westminster.
She also said manufacturers have adequate supply and are working to replenish available stocks.
‘Adequate supply of antibiotics’
She said: “The health secretary has discussed this issue with the UK Government to seek assurances about the supply of antibiotics to treat Group A Strep in response to the sharp increase in demand.
“Manufactures currently have adequate supply of antibiotics in the UK and wholesalers and manufactures are working at speed to continually replenish stock.
“Scottish Government officials have issued a medicine supply alert notice providing advice to healthcare professionals on prescribing options including alternative antibiotics if the first line option is unavailable.
“Work is under way to further strengthen the resilience of the supply chain, such as releasing antibiotics from medicine stock piles, increasing manufacturing of antibiotic liquid preparation and where necessary importing additional supplies.”
Ms Sturgeon was quizzed on the rising infection rate by Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton during First Minister’s Questions.
‘We take our responsibilities seriously’
She insisted health chief Humza Yousaf understood the seriousness of the issue and said: “Nobody is burying their hand in the sand, notwithstanding the fact medicine supply is actually a reserved matter.
“We do take our responsibilities seriously. The cabinet had a very lengthy discussion this week on Strep A generally, but the issue of antibiotic supply in particular.
“We are aware of some localised supply problems with penicillin and amoxicillin liquid preparations due to the increase in demand across the whole of the UK, but these types of demand shortages are not uncommon.
“The assessment right now is there is sufficient supply in the UK to meet these needs.”
Parents concerned
Parents in Dundee, Fife, Angus and Perth have been demanding more guidance from local health officials while case numbers rise.
NHS Tayside and NHS Fife told The Courier Strep A is being dealt with by Public Health Scotland and all inquiries should be directed to them.
Worried parents say the bug appears to be rife. One Angus dad said his child was off nursery with a suspected scarlet fever infection.
He said: “We’re not too worried as we know Strep A is a pretty common bug.
“But hearing about some cases turning more serious is scary. Thankfully, it looks like that’s still very rare.”