Measures to prevent scarlet fever. Is there a vaccine against the disease? When to get vaccinated against scarlet fever Active immunization against scarlet fever is given to a child

One of the rare diseases today is scarlet fever. It usually appears in children during the development of their immune system until about 10 years of age. Previously, it was considered dangerous, since its infection spread quickly, and a special vaccination against scarlet fever was invented for prevention. Now there are no mass diseases and the need for measures to prevent it is not so urgent. The main thing is to recognize it in the first days and begin treatment.

Causes and manifestations of scarlet fever

This is a childhood infection, the causative agent of which is not a virus, but a streptococcal bacterium. The disease can mature in the body for 2-7 days. And after this period ends, it begins to manifest itself aggressively, accompanied by various complications. In addition, the disease can be transmitted by airborne droplets and children around the child become infected from it, but this does not happen as easily as in the case of chickenpox. This is explained by the fact that its group A pathogen lives in the body of most people and does not cause disease, so if children begin to get sick, it does not develop into an epidemic.

A sick child spreads the virus only in the first week after the onset of scarlet fever, and generally the disease subsides on the second day after taking antibiotics. After a maximum of 10 days, children recover.

Scarlet fever can be transmitted in several ways:

airborne;
contact;
from mother to baby during pregnancy or breastfeeding;
with food.

The symptoms of this disease are very similar to those of tonsillitis. The main signs of this disease are:

Fever. Its growth is rapid and dramatic. Sometimes it can even reach 40 C.
The rash is reddish in color. Spots of small diameter appear on the skin and are located very densely. They are usually localized on the face, armpits or bends of the limbs. At the same time, just like with chickenpox, they are accompanied by itching.
Sore throat.
Bright red tongue with a white coating. In advanced forms of the disease, pustules are observed on the tonsils.
Peeling of the skin. The skin becomes dry and rough, and soon begins to peel off a little. This is the main symptom of the disease, after which scarlet fever can be accurately diagnosed.
Intoxication of the body. It can manifest itself in the form of general weakness, nausea and dizziness.

Tests will help confirm the verdict: smears for scarlet fever and BL, as well as the chemical composition of urine and blood.

Complications

They appear at early and late stages of the disease. In the first case, the following may occur:

otitis;
sinusitis;
runny nose.

Late complications occur after immune disorders:

glomerulonephritis;
rheumatism;
allergy.

Treatment methods for scarlet fever

From the first days of the disease, in order to quickly cope with the disease, the doctor prescribes penicillin antibiotics in various forms, depending on the age of the children. Syrups are suitable for children, and tablets can be given to older children.

The course of taking these medications should last at least 7 days, even if the baby feels better in the first days, you should not stop taking the drug. In addition to it, it is necessary to provide for the use of medications with live bacteria in order to avoid dysbacteriosis.

It is better to supplement the main treatment with auxiliary therapy:

bed rest, at least in the first days, to protect the child from complications;
gargling with saline solutions or decoctions of medicinal plants;
the right diet, which should include all the substances and vitamins necessary for the younger generation. Food should be light, but at the same time healthy. During treatment, due to pain when swallowing, the child should be given soups and pureed vegetables and cereals and other steamed foods;
taking capsule or tablet forms of vitamins;
maintaining hygiene. This applies not only to the baby’s body, but also to the cleanliness of his room. There should be regular wet cleaning and ventilation not only during illness, but also after recovery.

One of the measures to prevent many diseases is hardening. Start doing it after the child has fully recovered.

Vaccination against scarlet fever

In the recent past, vaccination against this disease was carried out, but as its results showed, it only affected certain groups of scarlet fever pathogens, so children became infected even after undergoing it. In addition to this, it was unsafe for the young body and could affect the functioning of various organs.

Now doctors know from practice that vaccination is not necessary, since the disease is mild and can be eliminated with regular penicillin. And if the baby is allergic to this series of antibiotics, then it can be replaced with similar drugs from another group, of which there are more than enough on sale.

If a clinic or school offers a vaccination, you can, without a doubt, refuse it; it will not protect the child. In addition, its validity is still short-lived, and in order to completely protect a child up to the age of ten, you will have to repeat the vaccination several times. Therefore, there is no need to torment a healthy body with unnecessary shocks, and if necessary, it will cope with the disease itself with the help of special medications. In most cases, a child who has had scarlet fever once develops immunity to its virus.

To prevent the recurrence of scarlet fever, it is necessary to regularly carry out preventive measures, which should include: examining the child’s body, maintaining hygiene and introducing the correct diet.

More visual information in pictures can be viewed in the video below.

Hemophilus influenzae infection, causes of its occurrence and methods of treatment The insidious disease meningitis: whether or not to vaccinate against it Vaccine against human papillomavirus - the main points of affixing Pneumococcal vaccination - application features Diphtheria vaccination: for the youngest and for those older

Considering that scarlet fever is an acute infectious disease, many are wondering whether there is currently an effective one, and if such a vaccine exists, what name does it have when it is given.

You should look a little at the disease itself and the history of vaccinations.

The development and appearance of its typical. The causative agent of this disease is group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus.

A distinctive feature of this microbe is that it provokes not only scarlet fever, but also many other diseases: rheumatism, erysipelas, skin inflammation, etc.

You can become infected with hemolytic streptococcus from an infected person whose saliva contains it.

This streptococcus survives for a long time outside the human body in the environment, and it is easily transmitted by airborne droplets and contact.

That is why preschool children and children of primary school age are most susceptible to scarlet fever. As you know, children love to try many things by their teeth.

The spread of infection is also facilitated by the crowding of children in kindergartens and schools. More than 90% of cases of scarlet fever occur in young people under 16 years of age.

Most often, the pathogen enters the body through the pharynx, but there are cases when streptococcus enters through burn wounds, scratches, etc.

Having penetrated the body, streptococcus causes the development of scarlet fever, which can be of varying severity. The most common form of scarlet fever is mild. It proceeds as follows.

The incubation period ranges from 24 hours to 10 days. At this time, the patient’s health, as a rule, remains normal.

Then the disease itself begins. Scarlet fever has an acute onset and is characterized by the following symptoms.

The temperature reaches values of 38-38.5 0 C. At the same time, some patients experience overexcitation, a state of euphoria, while others, on the contrary, experience depression, lethargy, and drowsiness.
Signs of intoxication appear: headache, muscle, joint pain, dizziness.
Along with the rise in temperature, a sore throat develops intensively, in which the tonsils, back wall of the throat, soft palate, palatine arches and uvula become scarlet. Doctors call this type of throat a “flaming throat.”
A few hours after the temperature rises, an increase in the anterior cervical lymph nodes should be expected. Enlarged lymph nodes are characterized by increased pain.
At the beginning of the disease, a grayish-white or grayish-yellow coating forms on the tongue, which goes away on its own after 1-3 days from the onset of scarlet fever. When the coating disappears, the tongue turns bright crimson. It retains this color until the 10th day of illness.
A characteristic manifestation of scarlet fever is a rash in the form of small red dots. With scarlet fever, the rash affects the armpits, bends behind the knees, elbows, groin, forehead, cheeks and temples. The nasolabial triangle remains clean. The rash disappears on the 4-5th day of illness. After 7 days from the onset of scarlet fever, the skin where the rash was begins to peel off.
With scarlet fever, the patient experiences tachycardia and increased blood pressure.

Scarlet fever usually goes away in 3-5 days.

However, in addition to the mild form of the disease, every tenth case can acquire severe forms.

At the same time, all symptoms become much more sensitive, the duration of the disease increases several times.

But, most importantly, severe scarlet fever is fraught with serious consequences in the form of purulent otitis, lymphadenitis, adenophlegmon, heart disease, and kidney disease. Some complications may well be fatal.

Vaccination against disease: history and modernity

In the past, when there was no effective treatment for scarlet fever, this disease was one of the most dangerous. That is why, since the beginning of the 20th century, medical scientists began to actively develop a vaccine against the causative agent of scarlet fever - streptococcus.

What is a vaccination?

To prevent the disease from progressing in the body, a person’s blood must contain antibodies that quickly neutralize one or another pathogen (in this case we are talking about group A hemolytic streptococcus).

In order for such antibodies to appear in the blood, you must either recover from the disease or get vaccinated.

During vaccination, a vaccine containing weakened or destroyed pathogens is injected into the body. The body reacts to them and develops immunity to the disease.

The first vaccine appeared in 1905. The vaccination was done with a vaccine that contained weakened streptococcus and its toxins.

After 20 years, the concentration of toxins in the vaccine was increased. In 1940 V.V. Pavlov proposed purifying the vaccine with a magnesium sulfur compound, and after 7 years A.G. Grigoriev developed purification using aluminum hydroxide.

Later, a vaccine made from diphtheria and scarlet fever toxin was proposed. There have been many studies of the vaccine received on children.

However, none of the proposed vaccines have lived up to high expectations. Vaccinations caused too many adverse reactions.

Their single administration turned out to be insufficient, and the effectiveness of the vaccinations was low.

Today, scientists are not giving up attempts to create a vaccine against streptococcus. Although at the moment the strong need for it has disappeared by itself.

In 1929, the era of antibiotics began. At this time, the English scientist Fleming first described the effect of penicillin on bacteria.

After World War II, research into antibiotics continued. As it turned out, group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus is unstable to penicillin antibiotics.

And with the help of these drugs, doctors began to defeat numerous diseases, including scarlet fever.

Therefore, with the advent of antibiotics, the scarlet fever vaccine completely lost its relevance. At the moment, there is no such vaccination; accordingly, there is neither its name nor the timing of vaccination.

If you suddenly had the temerity to get scarlet fever, you should undergo treatment with a course of antibiotics for 10 days and protect your body from accidental contact with pathogens for at least 3 weeks. Be healthy!

Streptococcal infectious disease - scarlet fever can develop in almost any person. In children, this infection mainly occurs between the ages of two and 7-9 years, that is, during the period of life when the formation of the immune system occurs.

Mass outbreaks of scarlet fever are currently recorded very rarely, and the disease occurs in the majority of sick children in a fairly mild form. But, nevertheless, due to the high contagiousness of scarlet fever, many often ask the question whether there is a vaccine against scarlet fever and whether it can be used to prevent the disease in children.

Is vaccination against scarlet fever possible?

Children with normal body weight and without serious diseases begin to be vaccinated against several infectious diseases almost from birth. These are tetanus, rubella, tuberculosis, diphtheria. These diseases are highly contagious and can cause severe complications, some of which are fatal. Vaccination against these infections and subsequent revaccination protect against diseases throughout life or contribute to the occurrence of diseases in a mild, uncomplicated form.

The scarlet fever vaccine is not included in the preventive vaccination calendar, and simply put, there is still no such vaccine. Now there is no longer any need to develop a serum that will prevent streptococcus from causing scarlet fever. There is no need for vaccination due to several reasons:

Symptoms of scarlet fever in most children are mild.
Timely treatment with antibiotics according to the regimen minimizes the risk of complications.
Scarlet fever has a low mortality rate; seasonal influenza has a much higher mortality rate.

There is no vaccine against scarlet fever for children or adults and there is no need for its development. Many parents know that an individual reaction of the body can develop to vaccinations, which is fraught with complications, and therefore it is not worth overloading the child unnecessarily.

Epidemiologists do not classify scarlet fever as a particularly dangerous infection, but in order to prevent the rapid spread of streptococcus, they advise following guidelines that explain what to do if the disease is detected. Quarantine measures when registering children with symptoms of scarlet fever in children's institutions must be carried out mandatory and responsibility for this lies with health workers and the head of the kindergarten or school. Children with infection are not allowed to visit the institution; if the diagnosis is established accurately, then after recovery the child should not attend kindergarten for another 12 days.

Children who have been in close contact with a sick child are constantly examined throughout the week. It is also not allowed to admit new children to kindergarten during the week. Permission to visit after illness is issued by a doctor. The health worker must ensure that the group treats furniture, floors, and toys with a disinfectant. Following these measures helps to minimize the number of children becoming infected.

When the epidemic threshold for scarlet fever is exceeded, decisions are sometimes made to use Bicillin as a preventive measure. Bicillin is an antibiotic with a prolonged action, therefore, when streptococcus enters the body, it does not allow it to multiply, excluding the development of scarlet fever. Bicillin is an optional measure; the decision on its use is made by the doctor together with the parents. For some children, this antibiotic is extremely necessary, this is explained by the child’s predisposition to developing rheumatism or other streptococcal complications of scarlet fever. Only a doctor can identify this predisposition after an appropriate examination.

Scarlet fever is an acute infectious disease. Usually its causative agent is streptococcus. The provocateur of the disease itself and its unpleasant symptoms are considered to be the toxins that it secretes, and not the infection itself. An adult can get sick, but the risk group is primarily children aged 2-10 years.

As a rule, adults become infected from them, but this happens extremely rarely. In this regard, many pediatricians, hearing the phrase “ scarlet fever in children“, they consider it a tautology, because this disease is a typical childhood disease.

There are various methods for preventing scarlet fever, but they do not provide a 100% guarantee that the disease will not overcome sooner or later. In order not to confuse the disease with any other disease, it is important to know what its manifestations are. This will allow timely assistance to be provided to the child (or adult) and to alleviate his condition.

How is scarlet fever transmitted?

The infectious disease is transmitted through household contact and airborne droplets. This means that it is almost impossible to completely protect a child attending a preschool or school playing with other children on the street.

It is important for parents to be attentive to the health of their children. Having noticed the first symptoms of the disease, you should immediately consult a doctor and begin treatment. It is necessary to protect healthy children from communicating with infected children.

The incubation period for the disease is 1-12 days. At the end of the infection, the infection becomes more active and the disease begins acutely and unexpectedly. A sick child must be provided with a separate room so that he does not become a source of infection for you (although this disease rarely affects adults) and other children.

Children who have not previously had scarlet fever should not communicate with the patient for at least 10 days from the date of onset of the disease. After illness, quarantine is required, lasting at least 12 days, starting from the day the patient recovers.

Before looking for an answer to the question of whether there is a vaccine that is guaranteed to protect against scarlet fever, it is worth considering that, having been ill once, the body will develop lasting immunity to the disease for life. In very rare cases, there are relapses, but the next time the disease progresses almost unnoticed. In addition, many experts are confident that the issue is not the return of the disease, but an incorrect diagnosis.

It is also important to know that there is no need to panic - with timely detection and treatment of the disease, the prognosis is always favorable.

If scarlet fever is not treated promptly, complications may occur. The most dangerous of them are diseases of the joints, heart, glomerulonephritis (kidney infection).

Symptoms of Scarlet Fever Vaccination

There are a number of signs by which you can determine whether your child has this disease:

A viral infection is accompanied by an increase in temperature to 38 degrees;
Skin rash accompanied by severe itching;
Decreased or complete lack of appetite, nausea and vomiting, upset stool. All these signs are a consequence of the activity of the infection;
Pain in the throat during swallowing;
Covering the tongue with a white coating;
The lymph nodes in the neck area are enlarged;
Headache;
Redness and spots on the face;
Pain in the intestines;
In some cases, children may experience seizures.

If you notice such signs in your child and suspect that the disease still exists, conduct a more thorough examination and analysis. By some distinctive characteristics you will be able to identify the disease and not confuse it with another.

Examine the rash carefully. With scarlet fever, it is usually localized on the stomach, elbows, and neck. The rash itself consists of small red spots that protrude slightly above the skin level. The color contrast between the unaffected areas and the rash is very noticeable.

Examine the palatine tonsils - they usually enlarge in the presence of an illness and are covered with a white coating, which can be seen very easily.

It is also not difficult to palpate the lymph nodes when a child is sick - they are enlarged, and their size can be similar to the size of a bean, and in some cases even larger.

The child's complexion may also change - he will have a pronounced blush, which you will not confuse with a healthy one. If the ears and face are also affected by spots, then the intoxication of the body is very high.

The coating on the tongue may not be white, but bright pink or red. In some cases, peeling is noted.

Treatment of scarlet fever

The causative agent of the disease, streptococcus, is very vulnerable to penicillin antibiotics. They are the focus of treatment. As a rule, the fight against the disease is carried out at home, and not in a hospital. The only exceptions are severe cases when scarlet fever was ignored for a long time. Hospitalization is also indicated for children under 2 years of age, but such babies are very rarely exposed to the disease, because they receive immunity from their mother.

For children over 5 years old, in addition to the drugs used to get rid of the infection itself (usually “Penicillin” and “Erythromycin”), they are also prescribed actions aimed at eliminating associated symptoms - most often we are talking about gargling with antiseptics that relieve pain and preventing the virus from spreading and multiplying.

Many parents believe that a scarlet fever vaccine would protect their child from the disease. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and it must be treated with antibiotics, which also have consequences for the body. In this regard, under no circumstances prescribe medications and their dosage yourself. A strategy to combat the disease should be developed only by a doctor who will conduct an examination and outline a course of treatment.

Despite the fact that a hospital stay is not required, it is necessary to visit a doctor - he must monitor the healing process.

Prevention Vaccinations against scarlet fever

There is no such drug or method that could protect against this disease. And the vaccine, which supposedly provides guaranteed and long-term protection against scarlet fever in children, is a myth. Previously, they were actually done, assuring parents that vaccination would prevent the disease. Practice has shown that this is not so - children still became infected.

Today, some preschool institutions, and sometimes clinics, also offer vaccinations, but parents usually refuse it. The fact is that it does not give any guarantees; its validity period is very short, so the vaccination must be done very often.

Hardening. This preventive measure allows you to strengthen the body as a whole, which significantly increases its resistance to various diseases, including scarlet fever;
Proper nutrition. It is one of the keys to health for everyone. The diet should be balanced and include all the substances the child needs;
As it turned out, vaccinations against scarlet fever are now very rarely given, but are there other drugs that can increase the body’s protective response? Doctors say that there are, they are medications of a bacterial nature. These include, first of all, lysate antigens that help the body develop immunity to infections that provoke respiratory tract diseases;
Purity. Make sure that the areas where the child is located are always clean. Do not forget about his personal hygiene, monitor its compliance;
Take care of your children’s health, in particular, ensure timely treatment of dental and gum diseases.

Most likely, at present, if you turn to your pediatrician with a question about when a vaccination that protects against scarlet fever is given, you will hear in response that today it is not given at all. Doctors came to the conclusion that such a vaccine does not exist, and there is nothing to worry about.

In fact, there is no vaccine against scarlet fever. After suffering from the disease, the victim develops immunity to the disease, however, there is a possibility of relapse. The scarlet fever vaccination is carried out in the maternity hospital, it is not specifically against this pathology, but the vaccine that the child receives, called DPT, can protect against the unpleasant disease.

Is there vaccination?

Is there a vaccine against scarlet fever? This question is asked by parents whose children have become prisoners of the disease. Infectious pathology is life-threatening. To date, scientists have not developed a universal vaccine specifically for scarlet fever, but they do vaccinate against group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus.

Vaccination is a preventive measure necessary to prevent many infectious and viral diseases. Scarlet fever is a rare disease that quickly infects people and spreads. Due to the development of the pharmaceutical field, this disease is highly treatable, and fatal cases are rare.

Are they vaccinated? Yes, they do. Newborn children are susceptible to developing the disease, and those who go to kindergarten and school must be vaccinated to prevent the occurrence of streptococcal infection. It is mandatory and takes place at a specific time.

What is DTP

There are several types of pertussis-diphtheria-tetanus vaccines: cellular and acellular. The first is carried out if the child has not contracted scarlet fever, that is, it is a preventive measure. An acellular vaccine is provided if the child has had an infectious disease.

Mandatory vaccination is given so that the child becomes familiar with the killed cells of pathogenic microorganisms, and the baby’s immune system begins to produce antibodies to infectious diseases. The vaccine against scarlet fever is given more than once. The formation of cellular memory is necessary so that in the future the body remembers the infection, and when it penetrates, it reacts and protects the baby’s body. Vaccination after or before scarlet fever will prevent recurrence of the disease.

Schedule

Vaccination against scarlet fever in children is carried out according to a specific schedule. Currently, several types of vaccines are used:

Infanrix;
Pentaxim;
Tritanrix-NV.

Vaccination is carried out free of charge, the state is obliged to protect the people. When vaccination is done, certain rules must be followed. First of all, parents should know when vaccines are contraindicated. Next, the parents themselves must visit the doctor and request a referral for testing. Don’t be surprised, in fact, before vaccination they take tests and undergo an ultrasound.

Often local pediatricians do not do this due to their busy schedule. Parents can visit a paid pediatrician in a private clinic and ask for a complete examination of the baby. If all is well, the pediatrician will prescribe vaccination. There is a vaccination schedule that parents simply must know about. When is it done in children?

The first DPT vaccine is given to newborns at the age of three months. For 30–45 days, parents should monitor the child, prevent hypothermia, and increase immunity.
A month later, it is necessary to carry out a second vaccination if the baby feels well and there are no contraindications.
Then the pertussis-diphtheria-tetanus vaccine is given when the baby reaches six months of age.
Afterwards, it is done at one and a half years, 6–7 and 14 years.

At what age do adults get vaccinated? Further vaccinations are required every 10 years. Unfortunately, many adult patients do not do DTP. And prevention of scarlet fever and other infectious diseases is important to prevent their development. Most doctors don't tell their patients about this. Everyone must take care of their own health.

Contraindications for DTP

DTP vaccination is contraindicated in some cases. This is due to the fact that complications may arise. The following contraindications exist:

immunodeficiency;
acute development of diseases;
hypersensitivity to vaccine components.

A child cannot be vaccinated if at the time of the procedure he has an elevated body temperature, convulsions, or leukemia. Vaccination is prohibited for pregnant children and nursing women. Prevention of the disease can be carried out after achieving remission and normalization of the condition of the baby or adult.

Attention! Vaccinations cannot be carried out for diseases that lower the patient’s immune system.

Vaccinations are not given to children taking medications that suppress the immune system. It is also forbidden to do it if the child had a hard time with the DTP vaccination the last time. Parents should be warned about possible complications after vaccination. For example, your child may develop a fever or a rash. In this case, you must immediately inform your treating pediatrician about the symptoms that arise after vaccination.

History of vaccination against an unpleasant disease

Scarlet fever was discovered more than 4 centuries ago. Lack of necessary medications leads to serious complications. Therefore, in Soviet times, scientists developed a vaccine against scarlet fever and other diseases caused by streptococcal bacteria.

Interesting! Vaccination of the population began for the first time in 1905, then new options for preventing the disease were developed.

As a result, the joint work of Pavlov and Balayan led to the production of a unique vaccine, which was made from scarlet fever and diphtheria toxin. Doctors were not well versed in making drugs, so they did not live up to expectations.

Subsequently, a vaccine called adsorbed pertussis-diphtheria-tetanus was developed. DTP vaccination is a prevention of three dangerous infections, including scarlet fever.

Causes and manifestations of scarlet fever

A sick child spreads the virus only in the first week after the onset of scarlet fever, and generally the disease subsides on the second day after taking antibiotics. After a maximum of 10 days, children recover.

Scarlet fever can be transmitted in several ways:

airborne;
contact;
from mother to baby during pregnancy or breastfeeding;
with food.

The symptoms of this disease are very similar to those of tonsillitis. The main signs of this disease are:

Fever. Its growth is rapid and dramatic. Sometimes it can even reach 40 0C.
The rash is reddish in color. Spots of small diameter appear on the skin and are located very densely. They are usually localized on the face, armpits or bends of the limbs. At the same time, just like with chickenpox, they are accompanied by itching.
Sore throat.
Bright red tongue with a white coating. In advanced forms of the disease, pustules are observed on the tonsils.
Peeling of the skin. The skin becomes dry and rough, and soon begins to peel off a little. This is the main symptom of the disease, after which scarlet fever can be accurately diagnosed.
Intoxication of the body. It can manifest itself in the form of general weakness, nausea and dizziness.

Tests will help confirm the verdict: smears for scarlet fever and BL, as well as the chemical composition of urine and blood.

Complications

They appear at early and late stages of the disease. In the first case, the following may occur:

otitis;
sinusitis;
runny nose.

Late complications occur after immune disorders:

glomerulonephritis;
rheumatism;
allergy.

Treatment methods for scarlet fever

It is better to supplement the main treatment with auxiliary therapy:

bed rest, at least in the first days, to protect the child from complications;
gargling with saline solutions or decoctions of medicinal plants;
the right diet, which should include all the substances and vitamins necessary for the younger generation. Food should be light, but at the same time healthy. During treatment, due to pain when swallowing, the child should be given soups and pureed vegetables and cereals and other steamed foods;
taking capsule or tablet forms of vitamins;
maintaining hygiene. This applies not only to the baby’s body, but also to the cleanliness of his room. There should be regular wet cleaning and ventilation not only during illness, but also after recovery.

One of the measures to prevent many diseases is hardening. Start doing it after the child has fully recovered.

Vaccination against scarlet fever

To prevent the recurrence of scarlet fever, it is necessary to regularly carry out preventive measures, which should include: examining the child’s body, maintaining hygiene and introducing the correct diet.

More visual information in pictures can be viewed in the video below.

Scarlet fever is an infectious disease caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus, which, when infected with its toxins, affects the body, causing toxic, septic and allergic reactions. This disease is classified as a childhood disease, since it is children aged 3-8 years who most often become infected with scarlet fever, and airborne transmission causes epidemics.

The disease can be recognized by a rash, damage to the pharynx, intoxication, fever and other characteristic symptoms. The younger the age of the infected children, the higher the likelihood of developing generalization of the process. Like many other childhood diseases, scarlet fever is especially dangerous due to its complications, so it is very important to prevent the development of the disease or diagnose it in time to undergo adequate treatment.

History of scarlet fever vaccination

Scarlet fever has been known to mankind for more than 4 centuries. Previously, this disease was considered very dangerous, since due to the lack of proper treatment it was difficult and had serious consequences, especially in children. That is why, at the beginning of the twentieth century, scientists were actively working to create an effective vaccine against scarlet fever.

Since the causative agent of the disease also causes infections such as tonsillitis, erysipelas, lymphadenitis, otitis media, rheumatism and other serious pathologies, the creation of a vaccine against group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus was very important.

The first vaccine against streptococcus was proposed by G.N. Gabrichevsky in 1905, a year later Zlatogorov proposed a combined preparation of streptococcus and its toxin. After 20 years, a new prevention option appeared from scientists Zinger (1925) and Park (1926) - increasing dosages of the toxin. Another 15 years later V.V. Pavlov proposed a toxin vaccine purified with magnesium sulfate, and A.G. Grigoriev in 1947 proposed using aluminum hydroxide for cleaning.

The fruit of the joint work of P.V. Pavlov and L.B. Balayan became an associated vaccine from scarlet fever and diphtheria toxin. This drug gave high antibody titers when statistical studies were carried out on children. However, further development did not lead to success. None of the drugs proposed by scientists lived up to expectations; they were all too reactogenic, required at least 5-fold administration and were not highly effective.

Do you need vaccination against scarlet fever?

Over time, medicine and the pharmaceutical industry developed, and scarlet fever was no longer such a dangerous disease when new effective antibiotics and other successful treatments became available. Streptococcus has lost its activity.

Although scarlet fever remains relevant today, thanks to rational antibiotic therapy, the use of sulfonamide drugs and timely diagnosis, it occurs in a fairly mild form and does not cause serious complications.

Since an effective vaccination against scarlet fever was never developed, and the disease began to lose ground, modern medicine recommends the use of only a few measures to prevent the disease.

Isolate a sick child at home or hospital for 10 days to avoid infecting other children.
A child can go to school or kindergarten only on the 23rd day after the onset of the illness.
If the patient has been in contact with other children, then in grades 1 and 2, schools and kindergartens are quarantined for 7 days.
Some experts suggest administering 2-6 ml of gamma globulin as a preventative measure to those who have had contact with the patient.

Modern scientific development of a vaccine

The main step towards the development of an effective drug for the prevention of streptococcal infections was the creation in 1976 of an M-protein vaccine from beta-hemolytic streptococcus of various serotypes. Tests on monkeys gave positive results. But the immunity generated was type-specific - in another country the vaccine might not be effective due to the large number of circulating serovars in different geographical areas.

Modern scientists, based on their experience, are trying to create a synthetic peptide vaccine. The basis of the drug as an antigen is to use a specific protein M, which is part of the streptococcus shell and ensures its toxicity and survival in infected organisms.

More recently, scientists from the University of California at San Diego deciphered the structure of the M1 protein, which was stabilized. The leader of the research team, Partho Ghosh, claims that this stabilized form will help create an effective anti-streptococcal vaccine that can protect the population not only from scarlet fever, but also other diseases caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus.

Scientific research has made great progress towards creating vaccines against diseases caused by streptococci. Decoding the genome and the structure of the M protein are the main steps towards solving this problem. The lack of specific prevention, the presence of asymptomatic and erased forms of the disease in combination with airborne transmission makes it very difficult for the health care system to influence the incidence of scarlet fever and other streptococcal infections in the population.

Scarlet fever is a disease that develops rapidly, so many people are concerned about preventing this disease. In our article we will answer a common question: is vaccination against scarlet fever necessary?

Scarlet fever is a contagious infection; its causative agent is streptococcus. The disease is transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person through airborne droplets, as well as through toys or utensils. Due to the fact that children have insufficiently developed immunity, scarlet fever affects them more often than adults. And they bear it more difficult. Scarlet fever most often affects children from 2 to 10 years old.

The symptoms of scarlet fever are similar to a sore throat, which is accompanied by an acute rash and peeling of the skin.

Are there vaccinations against scarlet fever?

Many adults would prefer that children be vaccinated against scarlet fever. But, unfortunately, such a vaccine does not exist. The disease is caused by bacteria, not a virus. Therefore, it must be treated with antibiotics. Their appointment is necessary, otherwise without them the disease can lead to complications, primarily of the heart and kidneys.

Therefore, if you are looking for a scarlet fever vaccine or want to know its name, there is no need to waste time. There is no need to be afraid of this disease, because antibiotics effectively kill the infection that causes scarlet fever, and the child’s condition will improve within the first day after starting to take them. But you cannot interrupt the course of taking antibacterial drugs. Treatment should be quite long: from 7 to 10 days. After scarlet fever, a person usually develops immunity to this infection.

So, let's summarize. If you have a question about whether there is a vaccination against scarlet fever, the answer is clear: this disease does not require vaccination. Timely treatment with antibiotics will allow you to recover quickly and avoid complications.

Is it possible to get vaccinated against polio if a child has snot? DPT vaccination and hepatitis together in one syringe consequences