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From Scabies And Syphilis To Rickets – The Grim Victorian Diseases Making A Comeback
THEY are often thought to be consigned to the history books - but experts have warned a whole host of Victorian diseases are making a comeback.
Declining vaccination rates, the cost-of-living crisis, poor diets and malnutrition have all fed into the resurgence of the nasty bugs.
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Grim Victorian diseases are making a surprise comeback across UKNHS Digital data reveals that 'Victorian diseases' caused almost 50,000 hospitalisations between 2018-23.
And figures from this year are unlikely to be any different, according to experts.
Here, Sun Health looks at the Victorian disease - and those that date further back - rearing their ugly heads, and share all the signs you need to watch out for.
1. SCURVYScurvy, first reported in Ancient Greek and Egyptian times is making a comeback, doctors have warned.
Read more on victorian bugsIt's a condition caused by a lack of vitamin C found in fresh fruit and veg.
The condition is typically associated with sailors enduring long voyages during the Middle Ages.
But doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports have suggested it's now re-emerging.
Doctors say it's "eminently" treatable, but because it's a disease associated with the past, it could be mistaken for other conditions.
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Fury as NHS STILL spending millions on woke projects despite Labour's vowFor example, it can be confused with inflamed blood vessels (vasculitis), putting people at risk of fatal bleeding if left untreated.
Signs can appear as early as a month after a daily intake of less than 10mg of vitamin C.
Health Explainer: 'Victorian Diseases'Dr Helen Wall, senior GP partner from the NHS Oaks Family Practice in Bolton, tells Sun Health: "Scurvy is caused by not having enough vitamin C in your diet over a long period of time.
"One of the key things that is unique to scurvy is developing red or blue spots on the skin, usually the legs and feet."
According to the NHS, scurvy symptoms can include:
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Rickets was widespread in the Victorian slums of Great BritainRickets, once synonymous with poverty and poor diets, was diagnosed in 28,379 Brits from 2019 to 2023, according to an FOI to 78 hospital trusts by the Liberal Democrats.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust, reported 580 cases in 2023, a 380 per cent increase on the 122 cases in 2019.
Rickets affects bone development in children, causing pain, stunted growth and soft, weak bones that can lead to deformities.
It is mostly caused by a lack of vitamin D, which is created by the body in response to sunlight but is also in foods such as fish (salmon, mackerel), red meat and egg yolks.
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Signs and symptoms of rickets can include:
Because rickets softens the areas of growing tissue at the ends of a child's bones (growth plates), it can cause skeletal deformities such as:
Meanwhile, the Royal College of General Practitioners has warned people not to ignore an itchy rash, which could be caused by the contagious skin condition scabies.
There are three cases in every 100,000 people living in England, according to the group, which is double the five-year seasonal average.
The condition is caused by a mite that burrows into the skin to lay eggs.
A pharmacist can recommend a treatment but if the rash persists, see your GP.
Scabies are particularly difficult to get rid of and spread easily between people living together.
Deep cleaning of bedding, furniture and carpets is required.
The symptoms of scabies are:
Tuberculosis is a bacterial bug that killed at least one in seven people in England at the beginning of the 19th century.
But a recent report released by the World Health Organisation warned that millions are still dying of the disease.
About 8.2 million people across the globe were diagnosed with TB in 2023.
According to the WHO, this is the highest number recorded since it began global TB monitoring in 1995.
New figures from the UKHSA in February showed an 11 per cent rise in TB cases in England in 2023, with 4,850 cases diagnosed.
Today, less than six per cent of those with TB die from the disease.
But it's still a serious disease of the lungs that leaves people feeling exhausted, unwell and with a lack of appetite leading to weight loss.
Treatment is at least six months of antibiotics.
Symptoms of TB disease include:
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Whooping cough used to affect tens of thousands of people before a vaccine was given routinely in the 1950s.
But the uptake of jabs, now offered to pregnant women to protect their unborn babies, has fallen in recent years.
More than 12,000 cases of whooping cough were confirmed in England in the first seven months of the year compared to 856 in the whole of 2023, and nine babies died.
The condition is nicknamed the '100-day cough' because it can last so long.
The first symptoms are similar to a cold before severe coughing bouts kick in.
After about a week, you or your child:
The cough may last for several weeks or months.
6. SCARLET FEVERAnother disease rife in the Victorian era was scarlet fever - and parents should still be wary today.
Anyone can catch the bug, but it most commonly affects children under the age of 10.
There was an unusual surge of cases in 2022/2023, along with Strep A and iGAS - all of which are caused by the same bacteria.
There were almost 60,000 cases of scarlet fever and 516 deaths from iGAS, of which 61 were children, across the UK, more than double what is considered normal.
The signs typically include:
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There have been 2,601 cases of measles in England in 2024 so far, up 38 on this time last year.
While many of the other Victorian diseases have in fact always been present in the UK, measles was largely contained for years thanks to the MMR vaccine, which was introduced in 1988, despite millions of deaths worldwide every year.
But lower uptake in recent years means the deadly virus, mostly affecting children, has returned to levels above 'elimination status'.
At the start of the school year, the UKHSA issued an urgent call to parents to ensure their children catch up on missed vaccinations after a surge in measles was seen in October 2023.
The first signs of measles include:
Syphilis is one of the oldest known sexually transmitted infections.
Once thought to be in decline, it is now resurging at an alarming rate.
In 2022, the UK saw syphilis cases reach their highest level since 1948.
And it is not something just happening in the UK.
There were 7.1million new cases of syphilis globally in 2020 according to WHO data.
Previously, men who have sex with men have historically been most affected by syphilis.
But infections in heterosexual men and women have more than doubled since 2019, with congenital syphilis also on the rise.
Congenital syphilis is syphilis that occurs when a mother passes the infection to her baby during pregnancy or at birth.
This form of the disease can have devastating consequences including miscarriage, stillbirth, premature births, low birth weights and the death of a baby shortly after birth.
Symptoms of syphilis include:
It can take three weeks or more for the symptoms of syphilis to appear after you're infected.
Sometimes the symptoms can improve or go away completely, but if you have not been treated the infection is still in your body.
This means you can still pass it on and you're at risk of getting serious problems later on.
Potential complications include:
What Monkeypox Looks Like Compared To 7 Skin Conditions Including Acne, Herpes, And Syphilis
The monkeypox rash progresses in stages and can be mistaken for other skin conditions.UKHSA
Monkeypox can cause a rash that looks similar to other illnesses, including herpes or syphilis — but there are some key differences, dermatologists told Insider.
Alongside a fever, a rash is one of the main symptoms of monkeypox. A recent study found that of 528 monkeypox cases diagnosed in 16 countries between April and June of this year, 95% had a rash, Insider previously reported.
Monkeypox has spread rapidly in recent months. More than 21,000 people across 344 countries have caught it in an unusual outbreak that began in May outside of regions where it is typically found, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. In the US, there were 4,907 confirmed cases as of Thursday, mostly in New York.
A high number of cases have been diagnosed in gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, according to the CDC, but it is not a "gay disease." Anyone can catch it from having close contact with an infected person or touching contaminated items such as bedding.
Pregnant people, kids under 8 years old, those with eczema, and people with weakened immune systems may be at risk of severe monkeypox.
Don't try to diagnose new rashes at home, doctors saidDr. Carrie Kovarik, a professor of dermatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, told Insider, "We don't expect patients to diagnose themselves, but I think having monkeypox on their radar at least is good, especially for patients who may be at risk for more severe disease."
Other diseases can cause similar rashes, and it's possible to be co-infected with monkeypox and another infection.
"My message is these skin conditions are not things that you should be trying to diagnose or manage yourself at home," Dr. Esther Freeman, director of Global Health Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, said.
MonkeypoxMonkeypox lesions crust over and heal on their own within two to four weeks. UK Health Security Agency
A monkeypox rash usually starts with a bump that fills with pus, which crusts over before an ulcer develops, Freeman said. This scabs over and heals over the course of two to four weeks.
"When fresh skin is seen underneath, the lesion is no longer infectious," she said.
According to the CDC, a monkeypox rash can occur on multiple parts of the body including: the face, mouth, hands, feet, chest, genitals, and anus.
Kovarik said that most monkeypox patients attending her clinic in Pennsylvania aren't "covered head-to-toe," in spots. Instead, they have lesions confined to one body part, or concentrated around one region of the body with "a few scattered elsewhere," she said.
A monkeypox rash can be the only symptom that people infected with monkeypox get.
But other symptoms that can either occur before or after the rash include a fever and swollen lymph nodes.
HerpesCold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus. Boy_Anupong/Getty Images
Monkeypox lesions can look similar to genital herpes, and cold sores in the mouth caused by the herpes simplex virus.
"You can get these clusters of bumps of monkeypox in the genitals that start as a bump and then become a blister, and then become a scab just like herpes does," Kovarik said.
But, monkeypox lesions have a "pretty characteristic" central indent, and the spots tend to be a bit bigger than HSV lesions, she said.
Freeman said that both monkeypox and HSV can cause lesions anywhere on the body, because they're spread by direct contact.
Testing is the best way to tell the difference between monkeypox and HSV, the dermatologists said.
Molluscum contagiosumMolluscum contagiosum generally causes "hard bumps." Kickstand/Getty Images
Molluscum contagiosum is "probably one of the things that can look most similar to monkeypox," Freeman said.
Both cause indented lesions and, like monkeypox, the molluscum contagiosum virus spreads through direct skin contact. This means it can be seen in similar areas of the body, Freeman said.
"We can see it in the groin and the anus, but we can also see it anywhere on the body such as the knees, hands, arms," she said, referring to molluscum contagiosum.
Kovarik said molluscum contagiosum generally causes "hard bumps," whereas monkeypox lesions were pus-filled.
Most healthy people with molluscum contagiosum don't tend to get sick and the rash gets better without treatment within a year, the dermatologists said.
The CDC recommends seeking treatment for molluscum contagiosum if lesions are in the genital area.
Hand, foot, and mouth diseaseHand, foot, and mouth disease is highly contagious. Lolo stock/Getty Images
Hand, foot, and mouth disease can be confused for monkeypox because both illnesses can cause fevers as well as lesions on the hands, feet and mouth, the dermatologists said.
The lesions usually get better without treatment within ten days, according to the CDC.
The best way to tell between monkeypox and hand, foot, and mouth is with a lab test, the dermatologists said.
"If you're sick and have a fever and a new rash, it's a very reasonable to go and see your family doctor," Freeman said.
SyphilisSkin rashes mark the second stage of syphilis, which can occur if people don't receive treatment. CDC/ Dr. Gavin Hart
Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, is known in dermatology as the "The Great Pretender" because it can look like many other diseases.
Similarly to the monkeypox rash, syphilis progresses through multiple stages, the dermatologists said.
Without treatment with antibiotics, syphilis can be fatal.
"I think if you just have any concern about a new sexually transmitted infection then you should really promptly seek care," Freeman said.
ShinglesShingles is a painful rash that usually develops on one side of the body, often the face or torso. Schwin Pikulsawad/Getty Images
Shingles is caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus, which can live in the nerves of the body for many years after an initial infection.
Freeman said that in healthy people, shingles causes a patch of painful, fluid-filled bumps in a very specific pattern related to the nerves, on one side of the body. People with weakened immune systems can get atypical rashes, she said.
Kovarik said that it can be tough to distinguish between shingles and monkeypox because both can cause flu-like symptoms and a cluster of painful bumps.
However, monkeypox patients get characteristic indented lesions, while shingles patients don't.
Shingles can be treated with antivirals and the CDC recommends that people who may have the condition contact their healthcare provider.
ChickenpoxA chickenpox rash first appears on the chest, back, and face, and then spreads across the entire body. Getty Images
People with chickenpox get an itchy, blister-like rash, caused by the varicella-zoster virus.
Kovarik said a chickenpox rash is usually scattered all over the body, and the spots blister and then scab. In contrast, monkeypox lesions, which are pus-filled bumps with a central indent, tend to cluster together, she said.
AcneAcne causes bumps, known as comedones, that generally appear on the face. SeventyFour/Getty Images
Acne is a skin condition that causes bumps, known as comedones, that usually appear on the face, and occasionally on the back or chest.
Freeman said that, unlike monkeypox, the lesions don't become ulcerated or spread to other parts of the body.
"Acne isn't accompanied by fever or swollen lymph nodes," she said.
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