DDHK. ORG – Scarlet fever is on the rise. Inggris noted, since September there have been around 30 thousand suspected cases of this.
Reporting from Republika, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recorded 10 potential new infections of scarlet fever or known as scarlatina over the past week.
This figure brings the number of suspected cases to almost 30 thousand cases since September.
According to UKHSA, more than 27 thousand people have been infected since September 12.
This disease is caused by Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria which multiply in the tonsils and throat.
UKHSA gets these figures from medical practitioners who refer suspected cases to local authorities or health protection teams. There were 17.695 referrals to suspected disease between September 12 and December 11, up from the previous 7.750 referrals.
The new total is 128 percent higher than previous estimates. This figure is significantly higher than the 2.538 at the same point in 2017 and 2018, the last time the figure was particularly high.
On Tuesday (20/12/2022) local time, UKHSA said there were 9.482 notifications of scarlet fever infections between December 11 and December 18 that were reported to the agency.
This brings the total to 27.177. The total is now higher than the whole of 2017 and 2018. The report is two more weeks yet to be published by the government.
“Increasing cases of notification of scarlet fever cases take longer to appear in the published data after processing,” said UKHSA as quoted by the Guardian, Wednesday (21/12/2022).
Sixteen children under the age of 16 have died from the disease or invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS), otherwise known as strep A.
The bacterium causes scarlet fever, which can then develop into a more serious invasive infection.
Scarlet Fever Strikes Everyone
Just so you know, scarlet fever can happen to anyone, but this bacterial infection tends to affect children aged 5-15 years more often.
This fever can cause flu-like symptoms, including high fever, sore throat, and swollen neck glands, which may appear as large lumps on the sides of the neck. The rash then appears between 12 and 48 hours later.
Scarlet fever needs to be treated quickly and precisely, because if not, dangerous complications such as pneumonia and serious conditions that affect the heart, kidneys and other parts of the body can occur.
The choice of drugs that are usually used to treat scarlet fever is antibiotics.
In the UK, a new serious shortage protocol was issued to pharmacists last week in a bid to help those experiencing supply problems with penicillin.
Chemists have widely reported problems obtaining liquid penicillin and amoxicillin due to increased demand.
Antibiotics are often prescribed for children who have scarlet fever or strep A. People in the industry also report rising prices. Pharmacists can now prescribe alternative antibiotics or penicillin formulations, such as tablets. [DDHK News]
