newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Scarlet fever is an illness that is potentially fatal to children, and right now it has overtaken Hong Kong.

Scarlet fever killed a seven-year-old Hong Kong girl at the end of May and has infected hundreds of other children in China, Hong Kong and Macao.

The Bangkok Post reports Hong Kong's has seen 466 scarlet fever infections in 2011 which is already its highest annual total. The city saw 142 cases during the first half of June.

Hong Kong closed a kindergarten for a week on Tuesday after early tests showed that a five-year-old boy may have died of scarlet fever. The boy attended kindergarten with 400 other children. Authorities have not found any other scarlet fever cases at the school, but it was advised to shut for a week.

Scientists in Hong Kong have found a slight change in the bacteria’s genetic structure which may increase its ability to spread. "If the genetic mutation is responsible for the increased transmission of the bacteria, the outbreak may continue for some time," said Thomas Tsang, a doctor at Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection, according to Yahoo News.

The Vancouver Sun reports the Center for Disease Control has issued a warning to Americans planning to travel to Hong Kong and China this summer. Canadians have not received such an advisory, but have expressed concerns nonetheless.

Back in December, CBS New York reported that 59 cases of strep throat and seven cases of scarlet fever were reported at the Lester Wilson School in Alexandria Township in New Jersey.

Scarlet fever is characterized by fever, a sore throat and a bright red skin rash that first appears on the neck and chest, and it is is most common among children under the age of 10. An infected child is normally treated by antibiotics and confined to home or hospital to limit spreading of the disease.