[TELEPHONE RINGING]

D: Hello?

Y: Hi Don. It's me, Yael. I can't come in to work today. I have scarlet fever.

D: Nice try, Yael, but I don't believe a word of it. Scarlet fever infects children, not      adults. And it's deadly too.

Y: I sure feel like I'm dying, but you're wrong, Don. Scarlet fever is no longer the deadly      disease it was in the 1800's. It can lead to serious problems like acute rheumatic      fever and toxic shock syndrome, but those cases are rare. And it doesn't only infect      children either. Scarlet fever mostly infects children because by the time they are ten      years old 80% of children have developed lifelong antibodies that protect them from      future infection with the bacteria. But that leaves 20% of us unprotected.

D: So what is scarlet fever anyway, then?

Y: Scarlet fever is basically strep throat, but with a rash. Toxins produced by the nasty      streptococci bacteria are released at the site of infection and are absorbed into the      infected person's blood stream. These toxins circulate throughout the body,      potentially causing injury in places distant from the infection. These same toxins      irritate the skin and cause it to turn a deep red, something like a sunburn. It often      itches. As the rash fades away around the sixth day of the infection, some of the skin      may peel. To make matters worse, though, scarlet fever, as I've said, is more than a      rash. It's strep throat. So the throat hurts and is probably coated with pus. And the      infection often begins with a fever over 101 degrees Fahrenheit.

D: Is it infectious?

Y: It's airborne.

D: You take as much time off as you want.  

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