Scarlet Fever — A Source of High Mortality Before Antibiotics
But strep throat left untreated is still a risk
The Velveteen Rabbit was a British children’s book published in the 1920s that I remember reading in school (there was also an animated TV movie in the 1980s). The story stuck with me because it seemed so foreign of a concept. A child was deathly ill, then is sent to the country for “clean air” and the parents need to burn all his toys and bedding before he returns.
The illness? Scarlet fever. Why? Because it was a highly contagious and deadly childhood disease at the time. It is caused by a bacterial infection — which at that time was incurable and the cause unclear. Its treatment — penicillin — wasn’t discovered until several years after the book was published. However, these infections are still seen today.
What is scarlet fever?
Scarlet fever, or scarlatina, is named for the pink-red rash caused by a particular type of bacterial infection. It is commonly associated with bacterial pharyngitis (meaning throat inflammation caused by a bacterial infection). We commonly refer to this as strep throat, with “strep” referring to a specific type of bacteria, Streptococcus. Specifically, these infections are caused by group A strep.
