In the Molde area alone, there may be up to 60 children who are ill. – Both kindergarten children and children in primary school are sick, says Marit Teigen Hauge. She is an assistant municipal doctor in Molde, where there is a large outbreak of scarlet fever. 50-60 children may have been infected in the last two weeks. Since the diagnosis is not reportable, the municipality does not have exact figures. It was Romsdals Budstikke who first wrote about this outbreak. Hauge says that the outbreak is quite special. She believes the reason is that three cohorts of corona children have not been exposed to the bacteria that causes scarlet fever until now. Scarlet fever Scarlet fever is a sore throat caused by streptococcal bacteria, which also causes a red rash on the face and body. Conspicuous pallor around the mouth. Easily combated with antibiotics. The disease is transmitted by droplet and contact infection. It takes from 1 to 3 days from the time you are infected until you become ill. You are contagious from just before the disease breaks out until one day after treatment with antibiotics has begun. Starts with sore throat and fever. Typically the tongue becomes very red. Some become nauseous, vomit and have stomach pains. Considered a childhood disease, and you rarely get the disease several times. After 1 to 2 weeks of being ill, you often start to peel on the palms of your hands and on the soles of your feet. Was a feared disease that ravaged in epidemics throughout the 19th century in Norway, with a mortality rate of around 10%, and was thus one of the most common causes of death among children at the end of the 19th century. Before treatment with antibiotics, complications such as kidney inflammation and gouty fever were common. Source nhi.no The municipality has sent out letters to both nurseries and schools stating that they must be aware of the symptoms, so that the children can start on antibiotic treatment. Assistant municipal chief physician in Molde, Marit Teigen Hauge Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news – Parents of young children are usually told to look out when their children are ill, but now we ask those with symptoms to see a doctor. As a result, the emergency room has been emptied of sick children, says Hauge. Several infected children have also been discovered in the Oslo area. Doctor Yngvild E. Bentdal, works at FHI’s department for infection control and vaccination. She encourages parents to have a low threshold for going to the doctor. – Parents should behave as before and see a GP or emergency room if the child has symptoms of strep throat or scarlet fever to assess whether antibiotic treatment is needed. Sore throat and rash Scarlet fever begins with a sore throat and fever. Many people experience nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. While others have the most pain in their ears. Within a day and a half to two days, the child develops a rash on the face and over large parts of the body. Scarlet fever rash on the neck of a 5-year-old girl. Photo: Science Photo Library Another characteristic is a fiery red tongue, and dandruff in the palms of the hands and on the soles of the feet one to two weeks after the disease started. Most children who receive penicillin treatment recover quickly. In the past, scarlet fever was a feared disease that led to many deaths among children. Illustration of scarlet fever in the German Meyer’s Konversations-Lexikon from 1897. Photo: Michael Nitzschke / imageBROKER Before penicillin was given, serious complications such as kidney inflammation were common. Several children who survived lost their sight or hearing. But even today, untreated scarlet fever can be dangerous. And from time to time there are such outbreaks of illness among children in Norway. Large outbreak in Great Britain This autumn there has been a far greater outbreak of scarlet fever in Great Britain than in Norway. So far, around 6,600 cases of illness have been reported this season, which are far more than corresponding seasons in the last five years, according to British health authorities. In London too, parents are asked to be alert to symptoms. Since September, there have been 145 cases of serious illness among children under the age of 9, the BBC reports. Since September, 15 children under the age of 15 in Great Britain have died from infections with streptococcus A, 13 of them in England, writes the Evening Standard. – FHI follows what is happening in England. The reason for the increase in England may be related to the fact that there are several viral infections circulating at the same time now, says Bentdal. FHI also links the rise of the disease to low immunity following the infection control measures during the pandemic. When it comes to the situation in Norway, Bentdal believes there is no great cause for concern, because the doctors are good at treating this. – We have seen slightly more strep throats with Streptococcus A in the past year, but we have not seen more serious cases of illness caused by Streptococcus group A among children compared to before the pandemic. This is something that can change and FHI is keeping a close eye on this.
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Outbreak of scarlet fever in Norway – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
