CHAPTER XIV 



SCARLET FEVER 



OCARLET fever is widely prevalent in the coun- 

 ^ tries of Europe and in North and South America, 

 but is scarcely known in Asia and in Africa. It is 

 said to occur occasionally in China, but to be un- 

 known in Japan. It is impossible to say how long 

 it has prevailed in Europe, but the first to clearly 

 recognise it as a distinct specific disease was the 

 famous English physician Sydenham (1685). It was 

 not introduced to North America until about the 

 year 1735 and first appeared in South America about 

 1830. 



The germ of scarlet fever has not been demon- 

 strated but, as is well-known, the scarlet fever patient 

 gives off from the surface of his body infectious 

 material by means of which the disease may be com- 

 municated, either directly or indirectly, to other sus- 

 ceptible individuals. This consists essentially of 

 cast-off (" desquamated ") epithelium, to which the 



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