Scarlet fever increase leads to new government guidance

The government has issued new public health guidance following a substantial recent increase in the number of scarlet fever cases seen across England.

Public Health England has reported a continued rise in scarlet fever notifications across the country, with 1,049 new cases reported from March 31st to April 6th 2014, with a total of 7,198 new cases having now been noted since the season began in September 2013.

As such, the new guidance provides additional insight into the public health management of scarlet fever outbreaks in schools, nurseries and other childcare settings, based on a rapid review of recent evidence and expert advice.

It includes resources such as template letters for parents/guardians, staff and GPs highlighting the signs and symptoms of scarlet fever and the measures that need to be taken when an outbreak is detected. The guidance also underlines the paramount importance of good hand hygiene.

Dr Theresa Lamagni, Public Health England's head of streptococcal infection surveillance, said the body is working "to assess the impact on the frequency of complications. We have a system in place to obtain a sample of strains from across the country to assess whether a new strain may have emerged".

Scarlet fever is a seasonal disease that is most common during winter and spring. Between 2,000 and 4,000 cases of scarlet fever are diagnosed each year in England on average.