The number of children being infected by scarlet fever has hit a 50-year high in Britain, with more than 6,000 new cases being reported since September.
In 2015, 17,586 cases were reported in England, and in 2005 the number of cases reported was 1,678.
Health officials in England are not really sure why the Victorian disease has made a comeback, but they are blaming long-term natural cycles. However, researchers in America have linked the rise of the disease to an aggressive and super-resistant strain of bacteria.
St Michael’s Junior School in Bowthorpe, Norwich, had 12 students who fell sick to scarlet disease earlier in the month. The school’s head teacher, Helen Newell, said she thinks parents are naturally going to be concerned about it.
Other schools were posting warnings about scarlet fever, with one school in Grimsby issuing a warning that the school had an out break.
The disease mainly infects children who range from two and eight in age, and March and April is the peak time for the disease.
Outbreaks of the disease were also reported in Carlisle, Lincolnshire and Wrexham, all within the last two weeks.
Dr. Ebere Okereke is a consultant in communicable disease control with Public Health England, and they said symptoms tend to clear up with a week and the majority of people who get the disease get better without complications, but that’s as long as they complete the course of antibiotics that were given to them.
Scarlet fever is caused by bacteria and it can cause life-threatening diseases. Some of the symptoms associated with the disease include a swollen tongue, flushed cheeks and a rash on the chest and stomach.
