An antitoxin was produced before antibiotics; however, it was never made in sufficient quantities, and could not be used to treat any other disease as antibiotics can.There have been signs of antibiotic resistance, and there have been recent outbreaks in Hong Kong in 2011 and in the UK in 2014, with occurrence rising 68% in the UK in the four years up to 2018. Research published in October 2020 has shown that infection of the bacterium by three viruses has led to stronger strains of the bacterium. Signs and symptoms
Rash which has a characteristic appearance, spreading pattern, and desquamating process e.g. "Strawberry tongue":

The tongue initially has a white coating on it, while the papillae of the tongue are swollen and reddened. The protrusion of the red papillae through the white coating gives the tongue a "white strawberry" appearance. A few days later (following the desquamating process, or the shedding of the tissue which created the white coating), the whiteness disappears, and the red and enlarged papillae give the tongue the "red strawberry" appearance. The symptomatic appearance of the tongue is part of the rash that is characteristic of scarlet fever.
Karelitz and Stempien discovered that extracts from human serum globulin and placental globulin can be used as lightening agents for scarlet fever and this was used later as the basis for the Dick test. The association of scarlet fever and bacteriophages was described in 1926 by Cantacuzène (Ioan Cantacuzino) and Bonciu.An antitoxin for scarlet fever was developed in 1924. The first toxin which causes this disease was cloned and sequenced in 1986 by Weeks and Ferretti. The discovery of penicillin and its subsequent widespread use has significantly reduced the mortality of this once feared disease. Reports of cases of scarlet fever have been on the rise in countries including England, Wales, South Korea, Vietnam, China, and Hong Kong in recent years. Researchers are unsure as to what has caused the spike in cases of the disease. The Dick test
The Dick test, invented in 1924 by George F. Dick and Gladys Dick, was used to identify those susceptible to scarlet fever. The Dick test consisted of injecting a diluted strain of the streptococci known to cause scarlet fever into a persons skin. A local reaction in the skin at the site of injection appeared in people who were susceptible to developing scarlet fever. The reaction was most notable around 24 hours after the injection but could be seen as early as 4 hours. If no reaction was seen in the skin, then that person was assumed to have already developed immunity to the disease and was not at risk of developing it. References


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