Research Paper On Scarlet Fever

Scarlet fever also known as scarlatina is an infectious disease that is caused by group A streptococcal bacteria—Streptococcus pyogenes. This disease was most common in the past and affected people of all ages—however, it was especially frequent within children. In Buchan’s Domestic Medicine, scarlet fever gained it’s name based on the color of the skin, tongue, and constant flushing of the skin that looks as if it has been “tinged with red wine”. The body would feature bright red rashes that covered most of the body, and be accompanied by a sore throat and a high fever. The rash resembled sunburn and felt like sandpaper—beginning on the face before traveling to the arms and legs. This often times confused people who had contracted the illness as being that of sunburn, when in fact it was completely different. The face of a human with scarlet fever appears to be flushed and complete with a ring around the mouth—resembling dehydration. Scarlet fever also causes the tongue to appear red—almost like a strawberry and containing …show more content…
Although the rash, flushed face, and red tongue symptoms subsided after a week, there were other symptoms that associated themselves with scarlet fever further adding to that fear. Due to the 1800s being a time that did not offer the antibiotics we have today, scarlet fever was extremely dangerous, causing serious complications, and even leading to death—as it was possible for people to endure long periods of the illness. The fear that came with knowing that the illness could not be explained was easily displayed as adults kept their children isolated and quarantined while entire communities panicked when new cases surfaced. This slowly produced an epidemic in the nation as it became easy to contract the disease especially when it was not being