'Elp

[stanmapstone]

My brother died of it aged 4. Before anti-biotics it was a killer disease.
Stan

[KathMc]

How scary. My son just had a form of scarlet fever with his strep throat. The doctor's announcement brought a gasp to me for sure, but it appeared to be very routine to them now, and manageable.

Kath

[PaulaToo]

Thank goodness, it seems this is one place where we have progressed forwards not backwards.

[Gadget]

I have just thought, Eliza Ann gave birth to her next child Walter George not many weeks later...
Walter George died of Valvular Heart Disease when he was 29 years old...I wonder if their was any connection.

Hi Paula

I don't think so. I'm not medically qualified but have worked with obstetric and paediatric records and have a sister with congenital heart disease. This was because my mother had flu in the first trimester of pregnancy when the heart bits are being formed/divided. I would think that if the mother was late on in pregnancy it wouldn't be a factor but can't be 100% sure.

Gadget

[stanmapstone]

There was a Scarlet Fever epidemic in Australia 1875-76 which killed 575, mainly children under five, in Sydney alone. Overall 5.000 people died in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Nearly one third of the deaths were  due to complications of the disease.
Stan

[PaulaToo]

Thanks Gadget, it was just a thought as all her other kids seem to make a good age.