How is scarlet fever contracted?
Scarlet fever is contagious. A person can contract it by breathing in the airborne droplets from an infected person’s coughing or sneezing. It can also be contracted by sharing contaminated clothes, towels or bed linen, or by touching the skin of someone infected. It should be noted that in order to get scarlet fever, you must be susceptible to the toxin produced by the group A streptococcus bacteria. It can happen that two children in the same family may both have streptococcal infections, such as strep throat, but only one – the one susceptible to the toxin – will develop scarlet fever. How is scarlet fever diagnosed and treated? A GP may suspect scarlet fever based on a physical examination and symptoms history. This diagnosis can be confirmed by taking a throat swab sample – a painless procedure – and testing it for bacterial growth. Once scarlet fever is confirmed, a course of antibiotics will usually be prescribed. These are generally taken for up to 10 days. It is essential that
