MODE OF SPREADING

The germs of the disease pass from the sick person to others in particles of the secretions already mentioned. This transfer is usually accomplished by direct contact or by the agency of some carrier such as infected hands, eating utensils, toys, etc. In the manner of its dissemination scarlet fever resembles diphtheria very closely. This disease does not often pass from one person to another through the air as occurs in measles. Like diphtheria it is sometimes spread through milk which has been handled by someone who has recently had the disease or has been in close contact with it. Many epidemics of scarlet fever have been traced to contaminated milk. Usually the germs first lodge in the throat, often on the tonsils. Sometimes they enter through wounds.