Summary
THE stifled shriek from an exhausted mother pierces the fetid air as her eyes catch the red streaks across her child's arms and the crimson rash about the neck. Wailing as she dabs a filthy cloth to a feverish brow,her trembling fingers mirror the quiver of tiny white lips which barely conceal a yellowed tongue. Family rush about in search of a poultice or a prayer which might spare the young soul,but their battle is lost and scarlet fever has stolen another young life.
Before the grieving has even begun the child is stripped and the clothes set alight outside. The bedclothes are snatched up and thrown onto the fire, then the family hold each other close as they watch tiny trousers and jumpers hiss and burn before a worn teddy bear is purged by flame.See the full content of this document
Extract
Viva: Scarlet Fever Is Back
This was the reality of scarlet fever before the 20th century, when ignorance of the bacterial infection meant epidemics regularly broke out and coursed through the fragile bodies o...
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