2023-10-27 14:24:19
Scarlet fever epidemic alarm in England: +70% cases in a month. But what are the symptoms? “Around 225 cases were reported during the week ending October 15, compared to 133 in the week ending September 10,” reports ‘The Sun’. It must be said that during the same week of October 2022, 528 infections were reported. The south-east of the country is hardest hit: 38 positive tests in Hampshire and West Sussex; followed by London, where 36 positive tests were reported, especially in peripheral cities such as Havering and Richmond. According to Theresa Lamagni, an epidemiologist at Ukhsa, “scarlet fever cases are currently in line with what we would normally see at this time of year and much lower than what we observed last December.”
Incubation and symptoms
“Scarlet fever is a contagious exanthematous disease caused by group A beta hemolytic Streptococcus (Sbega), a bacterium that produces a toxin called pyrogenic toxin. The pyrogenic toxin passes into the circulation causing the exanthema and other symptoms of the disease – reports the website of the Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital – Scarlet fever is transmitted by air with droplets of saliva (coughing or sneezing) from a sick child or a carrier (presence without symptoms) of the germ which is usually affected by the pharynx (streptococcal pharyngitis ), much more rarely than the skin”.
Incubation is short (2-5 days). “The onset is sudden with high fever often accompanied by chills, nausea, vomiting and headache. After a few hours, the rash appears. The rash initially appears in the groin and armpits and then quickly spreads to the trunk , arms and legs”, clarifies the children’s hospital. “The treatment of scarlet fever, which is also essential to prevent possible serious complications, must be followed for 10 days and consists of the administration of oral amoxicillin or a single injection of benzathine-penicillin”, conclude the pediatricians of Bambino Gesù.
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