Scarlet Fever is Making a Comeback with Antibiotic Resistance

After nearly 100 years, scarlet fever may be making a comeback. Scientists have used genome sequencing techniques to investigate a rise in the incidence of this childhood disease and its increasing resistance to antibiotics.

"We have not yet had an outbreak in Australia, but over the past five years there have been more than 5,000 cases in Hong Kong (a 10-fold increase) and more than 100,000 cases in China," said Mark Walker, one of the researchers, in a news release. "And an outbreak in the UK has resulted in 12,000 cases since last year.

Scarlet fever mainly affects children under 10 years of age. It's spread by Group A Streptococcus, which is strep throat bacteria. Symptoms include a red rash on the skin, sore throat, fever headache and nausea. Serious illness can usually be treated with antibiotics.

"We now have a situation which may change the nature of the disease and make it resistant to broad-spectrum treatments normally prescribed for respiratory tract infections, such as scarlet fever," said Nouri Ben Zakour, one of the researchers.

The rise in scarlet fever could actually pre-empt a future rise in rheumatic heart disease, which causes permanent heart damage. Knowing this, it's important to swiftly identify scarlet fever-associated bacteria and antibiotic resistant elements to track the spread of scarlet fever.

The researchers hope to continue studies on the disease, especially its patterns, causes and effects of health.

The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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