It got a bad reputation from the book, The Velveteen Rabbit, which was written before we had antibiotics to easily treat strep/scarlet fever. (healthtap.com)
Scarlet fever or scarlatina is an acute, contagious infectious disease caused by an erythrogenic toxin producing strain of Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococci) and characterized by a sore throat, fever , a "strawberry" tongue (swollen, red, and bumpy), and a fine sandpaper rash over the upper body that may spread to cover almost the entire body. (newworldencyclopedia.org)
Although epidemics were once common, in recent years incidents of scarlet fever have declined, leading to hope that the causal strain of bacteria is actually weakening, as well as reflecting on the human creativity in developing antibiotics. (newworldencyclopedia.org)
Scarlet fever primarily impacts children between the ages of five and 15 years of age (Jacobs and Carson-Dewitt 2005), and particularly those between four and eight years (Cooper 2005). (newworldencyclopedia.org)
Severe scarlet fever epidemics were common early in the twentieth century, but the disease became rarely seen as of the early 21st century (Cooper 2005). (newworldencyclopedia.org)
Many novels depicting life before the nineteenth century describe scarlet fever as an acute disease being followed by many months spent in convalescence. (newworldencyclopedia.org)
Prior to an understanding of how streptococcus was spread, it was also not uncommon to destroy or burn the personal effects of a person afflicted with scarlet fever to prevent transmission to other people. (newworldencyclopedia.org)
Rheumatic fever is caused by the overreaction of the own body's immune system, which may attack it's own structures (like the heart and the joints). (healthtap.com)
