Scarlet fever cases are at their highest level in over 50 years due to a potent new bacteria strain, experts say.
Incidences of the illness, which mostly affects children, rose from 15,000 in 2014 to 19,000 in 2016.
It is the biggest recorded spike since the 1960s in the disease, which triggers a high temperature, sore throat and rash. A Public Health England study blamed it on a mutated type of streptococcus A – emm1 – that is nine times more toxic and is now the dominant form of the bug. It is more likely than other strains to cause scarlet fever and deadly infections such as sepsis .
Prof Shiranee Sriskandan, of Imperial College London, said: “We’ve seen an unprecedented rise in scarlet fever. There was a rise in serious, invasive cases due to strep A, coinciding with the seasonal rise in scarlet fever.
“Our research aimed to determine if there was a link.
“We identified the new strain, linked to increases in both.”
Scarlet fever was once fatal but can be treated with antibiotics.
