On This Day: Scarlet fever claims lives

Scarlet fever claimed three children in Michigan On This Day in 1881. The Weaver family of Creso, Michigan, fell ill – all eight of them – to scarlet fever. The family lived on an islet in the middle of a marsh. Three children died within 24 hours.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), scarlet fever is a bacterial infection resulting from group A strep. Today, it can be treated with antibiotics.

Source:

Lancaster daily intelligencer. (Lancaster, Pa.), 30 April 1881. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress.

On This Day is a prompt I started to further explore historical events.

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