Scarlet Fever:
A parent's guide to condition and treatment information

Scarlet fever is an infection with a type of bacteria called Streptococcus, which not only causes a throat infection ("strep throat"), but also produces a poison (toxin) causing the distinctive rash of scarlet fever. Some people are more sensitive to the toxin than others, so not everyone in a family who is infected will have the rash, even if they have the throat infection. Sometimes the area of infection is the skin rather than the throat, a condition called impetigo.

Scarlet fever is contagious to people who come into close contact with an infected child. 

Complications are rare but can include deeper tissue infections, rheumatic fever, and kidney disease.