Is scarlet fever contagious? Active prevention is the most important

Scarlet fever is a common respiratory infectious disease, which is very common among children. Everyone should know that the biggest feature of this disease is that it is contagious, and droplet infection is the main route of transmission. Therefore, children should be isolated after becoming ill.

1. Is scarlet fever contagious?

The contagious period of scarlet fever is generally from 1 to 10 days, and sometimes the onset is more rapid.

Patients in the recovery stage after illness may still be carriers and excrete bacteria and should also be isolated and treated. Pharyngitis is also likely to be caused by beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection and should be treated promptly with antibiotics such as penicillin. Generally, the patient's infectiousness decreases rapidly after receiving antibiotic treatment.

Scarlet fever is mainly transmitted by inhalation of droplets discharged by patients, or direct and close contact with patients. Nasal carriers are more likely to spread the disease.

Especially in places with dense crowds, such as kindergartens, schools, etc., local epidemics are very likely to occur.

2. Transmission through droplets

Methods of care and prevention for scarlet fever patients include:

Scarlet fever is an infectious disease that often occurs in temperate regions, followed by subtropical regions, and is uncommon in tropical regions. Winter and spring are the seasons when people are more susceptible to infection. In the past, scarlet fever was a very serious and fatal disease. Scarlet fever was most contagious in children aged 5 to 15 years old, but everyone has the possibility of being infected.

3. Strengthen personal and home hygiene

1. The most worrying thing about scarlet fever is the occurrence of complications. Taking medication on time and resting are the most important things. Never stop taking the medication at will. Even if the symptoms are alleviated, you should continue the treatment with the cooperation of the doctor and conduct follow-up examinations.

In addition, if your child has symptoms suspected of scarlet fever, he or she should see a pediatrician as soon as possible and cooperate with the doctor for antibiotic treatment and follow-up. You should exercise more, eat a balanced diet, and maintain personal and home hygiene to stay away from infectious diseases.

2. Patients with scarlet fever should eat some nutritious, easy-to-digest, non-irritating foods, which can enhance their own resistance. If they are unable to eat due to sore throat, they can choose softer foods or liquid foods.

3. Sick children should recuperate at home and avoid going to public places. Scarlet fever is caused by infection with group A streptococci. Group A streptococci can be divided into three types: a hemolysis, b hemolysis and g hemolysis, depending on whether they cause hemolysis around the colonies in the culture medium.

The group A streptococcus that causes scarlet fever can cause b hemolysis, and the protein on the cell surface determines the ability of bacteria to cause disease. If there is M protein on the surface of group A streptococcus, it will be toxic to humans because the M protein protects the bacterial cell wall from being destroyed. When the human immune system produces antibodies against the M protein, the harm of group A streptococcus to humans will be reduced.

However, there are more than 80 types of M proteins, so humans cannot completely avoid infection with group A streptococci.