The next wave of infection hits NRW: children are particularly often affected by scarlet fever. Strep bacteria make people sick.
Hamm – Who wants to be sick at Christmas? No one. Before RS viruses and their symptoms most people have therefore protected themselves particularly well in the run-up to Christmas, also before Corona. Despite this, many suffer from flu-like illnesses. It even went so far that in some places medicines became scarce and Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced a new price ruleto declare war on the empty pharmacy shelves. But now another infection is spreading: streptococci bacteria are causing a wave of scarlet fever. Good if you know the symptoms and can act early.
Correctly interpreting symptoms in children: Scarlet fever is increasing
In North Rhine-Westphalia In any case, the fear of scarlet fever increases enormously shortly before Christmas. “The waiting rooms are full, the number of infections with influenza, other viruses, but also bacteria are high. We are slowly noticing an increasing number of purulent throat infections,” said Oliver Funken, head of the North Rhine General Practitioners’ Association Rheinische Post. “There is an enormous wave of infection, which could increase again when visiting relatives on the holidays,” says Funken. The World Health Organization (WHO) is already warning of an increase in severe scarlet fever cases in children under the age of ten.
In general, anyone can get scarlet fever. However, the disease occurs most frequently in children of kindergarten and school age. There is usually one to three days between infection and the onset of the disease. The good news: treatment with the right antibiotics helps to contain the wave of infections.
Those treated are no longer contagious 24 hours after taking the first dose. “Scarlet fever is caused by group A streptococci and can be easily treated with antibiotics,” says Thomas Preis, head of the North Rhine-Westphalia Association of Pharmacists, and reassures: “Even if individual antibiotics such as penicillin V are no longer readily available here, there are still sufficient alternatives .” Recently, among other things, had the City of Münster sounded the alarm because medicines are scarce became.
Scarlet fever can be treated well – antibiotics help
But be careful: If scarlet fever is not treated, sufferers are still contagious up to three weeks after the first symptoms. Early detection and diagnosis of scarlet fever infection is therefore important.
Those affected usually experience the following symptoms at the beginning:
- Headache,
- Sore throat,
- Difficulties swallowing,
- Chills,
- rapidly rising fever,
- Stomach pain,
- Vomit.
In the case of an infection with the streptococcal bacteria, the palate and throat are also red, the tonsils are inflamed and may have a white coating. The lymph nodes in the neck also become very swollen.
Scarlet Fever Symptoms: A rash forms after a day or two
After a day or two, the scarlet fever symptoms change somewhat. A non-itching rash develops that spreads to the entire body via the armpits, chest, and groin. Palms of hands and soles of feet are spared. In addition, the cheeks are very red, and the skin around the mouth is pale. Another indication that a scarlet fever infection could be present: The rash only disappears after six to nine days, a few days later the skin peels off, especially on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
Another clear scarlet fever symptom: The so-called “raspberry tongue” is typical – at first the tongue has a white coating, after a few days it turns raspberry red. The tip: Always have a sore throat with fever and a skin rash clarified by a doctor.
Scarlet fever and other diseases in NRW: wave of infection leads to failures in schools, daycare centers and Co.
In any case, the new wave of infections is exacerbating the situation in NRW. According to a survey by the Ministry of Education, four schools in the country sent all classes to distance learning last week, and 50 schools offered a mixture of face-to-face, distance and alternating lessons. This is a significant increase compared to the previous weeks. The number of corona cases among students and teachers is also increasing again. Across the country, 3,413 teachers could not be deployed due to the pandemic, compared to 3,224 in the previous week. This currently corresponds to a share of 2.1 percent. The number of students with Corona or in quarantine is also increasing again to 15,928 most recently.
The scarlet fever diseases should now mainly affect the daycare centers in NRW. Many educators are already calling in sick anyway, and now the situation could get worse. “Of course, we are currently experiencing a high level of illness-related absences because we are in winter, so there is simply a high burden of different infections,” said the minister responsible for daycare centers, Josefine Paul (Greens) of the RP. “We are keeping a very close eye on how the situation is developing.”
One thing is certain: anyone who recognizes scarlet fever and other infections at an early stage can act more quickly – and perhaps prevent further spread during the Christmas season.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.