scarlet fever

noun

Pathology.

1. a contagious febrile disease caused by streptococci and characterized by a scarlet eruption.

scarlet fever

noun

1. Technical name: scarlatina. an acute communicable disease characterized by fever, strawberry-coloured tongue, and a typical rash starting on the neck and chest and spreading to the abdomen and limbs, caused by all group A haemolytic Streptococcus bacteria

scarlet fever

1. A severe acute infectious disease caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes, occurring mainly in children, and marked by high fever, sore throat and a red skin rash.

scarlet fever

1. An acute and contagious disease caused by a kind of streptococcus. Characterized by fever, sore throat, and a bright red rash, scarlet fever can be treated with penicillin.

Word History and Origins

Origin of scarlet fever¹

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

He was socially awkward and expelled from school for poor grades - his work badly affected by a bout of scarlet fever.

Read more on BBC

Smith, who was born in 1946, was often bed-ridden as a young girl, afflicted with tuberculosis and scarlet fever, along with all the usual childhood ailments.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Italian prisoner Primo Levi was lying in a camp hospital with scarlet fever when the Soviet liberators arrived.

Read more on BBC

And then she had to sacrifice herself to scarlet fever because she wore the red gown.

Read more on Salon

The disease is characterized by respiratory symptoms, fever, conjunctivitis and a rash that can be mistaken for roseola, scarlet fever or other viral infections.

Read more on New York Times