James Debono The number of individual cases of scarlet fever has shot up from just one case in 2007 to 100 in 2009, statistics from the Disease Survellience Unit show.
Scarlet fever is most common in children under 10 who develop a red rash, which consists of very small red bumps which feel like sandpaper.
One of the reasons for this massive increase could be the introduction of a new strain of scarlet fever, producing bacteria known as Group A Streptococcus Pyogenes, a spokesperson of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Unit told MaltaToday.
The increase could be due to the fact that the Maltese lack immunity for this slightly different strain of the bacteria, medical sources added.
The number of clusters in which the infection spread in 2009 was among three persons, each occurring in households amongst siblings.Another reason for the higher incidence could be the heightened awareness amongst physicians of the disease. “Consequently this is resulting in more referral for laboratory testing,” MaltaToday was told.
Countries such as the UK have also seen a surge in cases. Almost 3,000 cases of the disease were recorded in 2008 in England and Wales, the highest number for the decade.
Scarlet fever caused devastating epidemics through the 19th and early 20th centuries, and killed almost 5% of those infected in 1914. Sufferers were isolated for weeks and their clothes and bedding burnt to prevent contagion. Over the past century, the number of cases and virulence of the infection has declined for reasons not fully understood.
But the advent of antibiotics and specific testing for the disease has kept it at low levels for decades. Although it was once a very serious childhood disease, scarlet fever is now usually mild.
The bacteria spreads by a person’s mouth, nose or eyes coming into contact with the mucus or saliva of an infected person. Mucus or saliva might be on cups, plates, pens or surfaces such as tables that might have been used or touched by somebody carrying the bacteria. One can also get the disease by inhaling infected airborne droplets produced by a person who is carrying the bacteria through coughing or sneezing.
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