Seldom fatal today, Scarlet Fever was one of the worst child killers in history. What starts out as an uncomfortable sore throat for a child, it can manifest in to a potentially fatal fever. Scarlet fever became one of the most common infectious childhood disease to cause death in most of the major urban centers of Europe and the United States, “with case fatality rates that reached or exceeded 30% in some areas–eclipsing even measles, (al, 2013)diptheria, and pertussis. The deadliest point in time was from 1840 until 1883. By the middle of the twentieth century, the mortality rate from scarlet fever fell to around 1%.” (al, 2013) A once mass killer of children has been reduced with penicillin, now widely available in developed countries.
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And in 1858, Darwin also lost his 18-month-old son, Charles Waring, to scarlet fever. Though there is no scientific proof, it is alleged that the “brain fever” that Helen Keller contracted in January 1882, when she was 19 months old, was Scarlet Fever. It is suggested this caused complications leading her to lose her vision and hearing. One of the most dreaded and scariest diseases in the early twentieth century for a family with small children was Scarlet Fever. So much so, Scarlet fever became a central part of one of the most famous children’s books of all time, The Velveteen Rabbit, written by Margery Williams in 1922.
The mention of Scarlet fever in a community in the early Victorian era United States and Europe struck panic in the hearts of a community. The disease had been known to kill all the children in a family within two weeks. In the 19th century numerous epidemics of Scarlet Fever raged through Europe and North America. In the 1860s, the death rate from Scarlet Fever was as high as 972 per million, resulting in as many as 25 % of all recorded deaths during the period. (Amerson, 2012 …show more content…
S. Pyogens are from the Group A streptococcus bacteria. The initial findings of streptococcus pyogenes believe to have come from the Fifth Century B.C. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was the first to record what he observed, which is now believed to be scarlet fever. (al, 2013) Mostly common in children from age 2 to 8, Children in this age range are most susceptible because their immune system is still forming. It is uncommon for children under 2 in contracting the disease because babies are still receiving passive immunity from their mother’s breast milk. Children with scarlet fever develop symptoms of a high fever of 103 degrees and higher and a sore throat. A rash is a major factor in supporting the diagnoses of Scarlet Fever. First appearing on the face, the rash spreads to the neck, chest and back. The rash then spreads to the arms and the rest of the body. The rash starts as pimply red bumps, growing closer together to form a solid red surface on the skin. The primary strep infection is the contagious aspect. The rash itself is not contagious. The toxin responsible for causing the red-colored skin rash is an erythrogenic
And in 1858, Darwin also lost his 18-month-old son, Charles Waring, to scarlet fever. Though there is no scientific proof, it is alleged that the “brain fever” that Helen Keller contracted in January 1882, when she was 19 months old, was Scarlet Fever. It is suggested this caused complications leading her to lose her vision and hearing. One of the most dreaded and scariest diseases in the early twentieth century for a family with small children was Scarlet Fever. So much so, Scarlet fever became a central part of one of the most famous children’s books of all time, The Velveteen Rabbit, written by Margery Williams in 1922.
The mention of Scarlet fever in a community in the early Victorian era United States and Europe struck panic in the hearts of a community. The disease had been known to kill all the children in a family within two weeks. In the 19th century numerous epidemics of Scarlet Fever raged through Europe and North America. In the 1860s, the death rate from Scarlet Fever was as high as 972 per million, resulting in as many as 25 % of all recorded deaths during the period. (Amerson, 2012 …show more content…
S. Pyogens are from the Group A streptococcus bacteria. The initial findings of streptococcus pyogenes believe to have come from the Fifth Century B.C. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was the first to record what he observed, which is now believed to be scarlet fever. (al, 2013) Mostly common in children from age 2 to 8, Children in this age range are most susceptible because their immune system is still forming. It is uncommon for children under 2 in contracting the disease because babies are still receiving passive immunity from their mother’s breast milk. Children with scarlet fever develop symptoms of a high fever of 103 degrees and higher and a sore throat. A rash is a major factor in supporting the diagnoses of Scarlet Fever. First appearing on the face, the rash spreads to the neck, chest and back. The rash then spreads to the arms and the rest of the body. The rash starts as pimply red bumps, growing closer together to form a solid red surface on the skin. The primary strep infection is the contagious aspect. The rash itself is not contagious. The toxin responsible for causing the red-colored skin rash is an erythrogenic