600 cases a week of scarlet fever reported in England

Cases of the once-potentially fatal disease, scarlet fever, are being reported at the rate of 600 a week, Public Health England reported Friday.

In the past six months 6,157 cases of the highly contagious infection have been reported - a seven-percent rise on the same period last year, but the number is expected to rise further until it peaks.

The fever affects mainly children under 10 years of age, and is treatable with anti-biotics.

PHE said today it is alerting all doctors and health practitioners to be on look-out for the disease when assessing patients for the fever, caused by bacteria known as group A streptococcus.

The agency said cases of scarlet fever have soared in the last three years. In the same six months in 2013 there were just over 2,800 reported cases.

PHE warned the disease is spread through close contact with people carrying the organism or through contact with objects and surfaces contaminated with the bacterium.

Until anti-biotic treatment became available scarlet fever, with its familiar deep red rash, was considered as a very dangerous, and potentially life-threatening, infection.

Theresa Lamagni, who is head of streptococcal infection surveillance at PHE, said potential complications include ear infection, throat abscess and pneumonia. But in most cases the fever will pass with appropriate treatment.

PHE said the reason behind the increase of cases over the past three years remains unclear, but one possibility is it may reflect the long-term natural cycles in disease incidence seen in many types of infection. Endit