Woman, 22, horrified to be told ‘flu’ was rare Victorian disease she caught from trip to the pub

A young woman has told of her horror after she was diagnosed with potentially lethal scarlet fever following a trip to the pub. 

Indigo Duffy, from Kingston in London, suddenly developed a ‘burning sore throat’ after attending a ‘really packed’ and ‘hot’ gig in a Brixton pub last year. 

But the now 22-year-old dismissed the symptom as an early sign of a cold or the flu.

It was only when the self-employed vintage clothes seller discovered ‘itchy’ and ‘burning red bumps’ on her legs that she googled her symptoms.

After discovering the rash had spread across her body when she woke up the following morning, she rushed to A&E.

Here, medics diagnosed her with scarlet fever and prescribed her antibiotics. 

The infectious disease, which was most prominent in the Victorian era, largely affects children aged between two and eight.

Historically dangerous, today it is far less serious as the disease can be treated with antibiotics.  

Recalling her horrifying ordeal, Ms Duffy said: ‘When I first had the sore throat I thought, ‘oh I’ve just caught the flu or a cold or something.

‘It was a really packed gig, really hot and then I had a really burning sore throat and I had no clue what it was.’

Days later, in an effort to quell her symptoms, ‘I was like, “I’ll just hop in the shower, relax”, and then my legs were in burning red bumps and I was really confused what that was,’ she added. 

‘It was really itchy and it also really stung. It was quite hot and stinging.

‘It was a lumpy rash which was awful. The more you itched it, it kind of made it worse.

‘I was like a sick Victorian child.

‘I was just thinking of how it was a medieval disease and how it wiped out loads of people back in the day. It panicked me a little bit.’

After a week spent on the sofa, she recovered from the illness, but said she had very dry and peeling skin on her legs for two weeks afterwards.

Now she is sharing her ordeal from late last year to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of scarlet fever.

It comes as particularly virulent strains have been detected in the UK in recent years.

Earlier this year in May, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) officials revealed cases in England were above the five year average. 

At the time, they urged parents to be vigilant, adding ‘it can become serious if left untreated’. 

Scarlet fever symptoms are often flu-like, including a high temperature, a sore throat and swollen neck glands.

A rash appears 12 to 48 hours later, starting on the chest and stomach and then spreading.

A white coating also appears on the tongue which peels, leaving the tongue red, swollen and covered in little bumps—often called ‘strawberry tongue’.

Early treatment is important as it helps to reduce the risk of complications such as pneumonia and the transmission of infection.

Those diagnosed with scarlet fever should stay at home until at least 24 hours after the start of antibiotic treatment, and practice good hygiene including hand washing and not sharing utensils.

Scarlet fever is caused by Strep A, which usually causes a mild bacterial infection.

While the vast majority of infections are treatable with antibiotics, in exceptionally rare cases the bacteria can cause invasive Group A Streptococcal (iGAS).

This occurs when the bacteria it gets into parts of the body where it is not normally found, such as the lungs or bloodstream.