Scarlet fever strikes St. Peter’s

Scarlet fever strikes St. Peter’s
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BY TANYA COLLIER MACDONALD
The Cape Breton Post

ST. PETER’S — Students at East Richmond Education Centre got an unplanned history lesson this week on scarlet fever, a bacterial infection that forced 19th century families to burn the toys of their infected children.

Three students at the school were confirmed to be infected with the illness, a scare that had 45 of its 174 students choosing to stay at home Tuesday.

The school quickly contacted the province’s medical officer of health for advice and learned the infection is easily treated with antibiotics.

“We were told there was no reason to be alarmed,” said Tanya Carter, a teacher at the school.

A fact sheet describing scarlet fever, its symptoms, treatment and ways to prevent the illness from spreading was sent home with students. Wednesday, school attendance was back to normal.

“It’s not as serious as it was long ago.”

Carter said the school hired extra personnel to clean the school, including door handles, desks, chairs and bathrooms to help eliminate its spread.



tcmacdonald@cbpost.com