Scarlet Fever Is Back! Here’s All You Need to Know about the Warning Signs Of The Disease

Scarlet fever!! The name itself is scary and sounds like a disease from history but in Dec 2017, just last year, medical scientists made a startling find that scarlet fever is back! Yes, the dangerous condition that causes fever, infection and rashes has made a dangerous resurgence across parts of the globe.

1The scourge of history is back

The scourge of Scarlet fever had been in decline for decades. As a cause of several child deaths around the world, it has made a deadly comeback where even European countries like England no less have reported an unprecedented rise since 2014.

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2An alarming cause for concern in England since 2014

A recent study that was published in The Lancet infectious diseases has discovered 620 outbreaks that totaled 19,000 cases of scarlet fever that was reported in England in 2016. That makes it an all-time high.

The disease has also been reported in Vietnam, China, South Korea and other Asian countries in the past 5 years, so in all probability, this is where it’s coming from. 

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3What the experts have to say

Head of the streptococcal Surveillance of Public Health England, Dr. Theresa Lamagni says that “Whilst current rates are nowhere near those seen in the early 1900s, the magnitude of the recent upsurge is greater than any documented in the last century,"

In January 2018, 735 cases have already been reported which incidentally is the largest ever weekly outbreak since April 2018 and because of this citizens have been warned to be aware of the disease and exercise precautions. 

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4What is scarlet fever?

Scarlet fever or scarlatina as it was also called usually develops in those with strep throat. The typical signs are a bright red rash over the body with high fever and sore throat. In Scarlet fever, the bacteria that infects the throat is the same one responsible for the fever. Scarlet fever attacks mostly children in the age group 5 to 15 years old.

The public health department hopes that the cases will slowly diminish but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. In the USA, scarlet fever isn’t yet a trackable disease for concern, but awareness and information is good which is why the CDC (center for prevention of disease) made it their disease of the week in January 2018. 

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