Scarlet Fever, Kings Cross

Had a rather unusual email circulated around the London office today, thought I would share edited highlights with you-

"We have been told that a member of staff has been diagnosed with Scarlet Fever". Woah! That woke me up! "Although it used to be considered a dangerous disease, nowadays it is easily treated with antibiotics and should not be a cause for concern"...Hmmm, alright then...(still don't want it though)..."The symptoms of the illness include sore throat and a pinkish red rash"...not scarlet then...? "If you develop these symptoms you should consult your GP. You will also find further details of diagnosis and treatment on the NHS Direct website"...or actually I found Wikipedia quite useful, even having some pictures to help you identify said symptoms, which the NHS doesn't have (and no, the rash isn't scarlet, but easy to treat or not, I really don't fancy 6 weeks of peeling skin after the other symptoms go away, a slight omission there, I feel)..."Although Scarlet Fever is a notifiable disease"...this means it's infectious enough for the local health authority to be required to track it's spread(!)..."we are advised that treatment is simple and patients normally"...normally?..."make a full recovery after a few days. It does not appear to pose any threat to unborn children"...well, that's a relief at least! ;)

Whoever was unlucky enough to catch a dose already though, I call on the power of the interweb to help you get well soon...it really doesn't sound/look very fun at all... :(

Be about right if it did get me though...already today in my small area we have one person off with "Flu"-like symptoms (uh oh, it's got a 3-4 day incubation period!), and two people with sore throats/coughing, causing me to glare suspiciously around my desk, shielding myself with my collar... >;P

So, Polonium 210, a broken finger, soft tissue damage and a group A streptococcal infection all in the space of 6 months..? Could be! Watch this space... ;)

...

Oh and I wanted to add that I'm not *really* worried about it, but on reflection perhaps that would just foolishly jinx things in the diseases favour (and one shouldn't tempt fate)...

Shit...typed it now... ;)