ive had this desease called Scarlet Fever. Ive hear it is rare in the UK but i would like to know some more facts about

Question: ive had this desease called Scarlet Fever. Ive hear it is rare in the UK but i would like to know some more facts about this disease? Please help, thank you
- Keywords:
  disease
Asked by lagoonspice to Susan, Simon, Rachel, Lou, Dilwar on 11 Nov 2013.
- Simon Langley-Evans answered on 11 Nov 2013:
  
  Scarlet Fever is pretty unusual these days in the UK but at one time it was very common and a lot of children used to get it when they went to primary school. It is an infection caused by a bacterium but rather than the bacteria making you ill, it is a toxin that the bacteria produces when it is attacked by a virus that causes the problem.
  
  The bacterium is called Streptococcus progenies and when it is infected by a bacteriophage (a bacteria -eating virus) it makes erythrogenic toxin which causes the rash and sore throat that humans experience. These days the disease isn’t that dangerous because you can be treated with antibiotics to kill the bacteria, but in the past it used to be very serious and a lot of children would die because the toxin would damage the heart and kidneys.
- Rachel Dakin answered on 12 Nov 2013:
  
  Hi lagoonspice, I didn’t know much about scarlet fever so thanks to Simon I’ve learnt something too.
  If you want to know more about any illness/disease then I would always search the NHS website. There is lots of incorrect information on the internet but the NHS website is checked so is a reliable source.
  Rachel

Question: ive had this desease called Scarlet Fever. Ive hear it is rare in the UK but i would like to know some more facts about this disease? Please help, thank you