Streptococcus Scarlet Fever

1. StreptococcusScarlet Fever Abi Peters January 2009

2. Streptococcus • Genus of spherical, gram – positive, aerobic bacteria • Belongs to the phylum Firmicutes and the lactic acid bacteria group • Occur in pairs or chains • Cellular division occurs along a single axis → chains • Name comes from a Greek word which means easily bent or twisted like a chain

3. Transmitting Streptococcus • Direct contact from person to person: droplets of spray from the infected person or holding hands • Indirect contact: touching something that the infected person has touched and used like silverware

4. Entering The Body • Streptococcus usually enters the body through the mouth or nose traveling through the respiratory tract • It travels through the body and lays between the cells and the skin tissues in most cases • Then the bacteria produces a toxin that causes several infections to occur

5. Common Diseases • Strep throat • Impetigo • Erysipelas • Cellulitis • Necrotizing Fasciitis • Wound Infections • Toxic Shock Syndrome • Puerperal Fever • Rheumatic Fever • Glomerulonephritis

6. Scarlet Fever • Infectious disease caused by streptococcus • The bacteria infects the throat, produces a toxin → scarlet fever • Originally called Febris Scarlatina – from Latin • Most common in children between two and ten • Once very serious but now easily treatable

7. Through the Ages • Some descriptions of scarlet fever date back to Ancient Greece about 2,500 years ago • Many historians and physicians wonder if the plague of Athens which broke out in 430B.C.E. was caused by an outbreak of group A streptococci • More descriptions found in the 10th century by Arab physicians • First detailed paper written in 1553 by Italian physician Giovanni Filippo Ingrassia who called the disease “rossalia”

8. Lethal Epidemics • 1824 – Tours, France • 1831 – Dublin, Ireland • 1832 – 1833 – Georgia, United States In some areas of England and the United States Scarlet fever was lethal and feared in the mid 1900’s. If someone became infected with scarlet fever they would be reported to the local police and hospital. They were usually quarantined as this sign from Connecticut says.

9. Thomas Sydenham (1624 – 1689) • English Physician • Educated at the University of Oxford • Differentiated scarlet fever and measles

10. Symptoms • Sore throat • Fever above 101ºF • Bright red tongue – “strawberry color” • Peeling of the skin around the finger tips

11. The Rash • Appears 1-2 days after the toxin is released into the body and 12-48 hours after the fever • Starts on the neck and chest and spreads out over the body except over the face • Fine, tiny, red bumps • “Sandpapery” texture • Lasts for about a week and then fades slowly - fading may take up to a month

12. Diagnosis • Blood culture is rarely positive • Throat culture is usually most successful • The rash is also important in diagnosis – the texture is more important than the look

13. George Fredrick Dick (1881 – 1967) • American bacteriologist and pathologist • Earned his M.D. degree from Rush Medical Collage in Chicago • In 1924 Dick and his wife determined that scarlet fever was produced by a toxin form the hemolytic streptococcus bacterium group by inoculating people with a strain of the bacteria • Then discovered an antitoxin for the disease

14. Treatment • George Fredrick Dick developed the vaccine in the 1920’s • Penicillin was then developed in the 1940’s • Lots of rest is the best treatment • A person with scarlet fever should not be infectious after 24 hours on antibiotics This picture shows the lasting red checks that scarlet fever leaves for up to three months

15. Bibliography • Smith, Tara. Streptococcus(Group A). Deadly Diseases and Epidemics. 2005. • http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000974.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ • Scarlet Fever • Streptococcus • Gram Positive • http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia • Thomas Sydenham • George Fredrick Dick • Scarlet Fever • Streptococcus