What is the difference between strep throat and scarlet fever?

My doctor advised me that my son has strep throat and not scarlet fever. I have looked at descriptions online but both sound the same to me. There obviously a ifference can anyone advise?

Please see the webpages for more details on Strep throat and Scarlet fever.
Streptococcus- A genus of bacteria. Gram-positive cocci, often occuring in chains of varying length. Require enriched media for growth and the colonies are small. Saprophytic (saprophyte-Free living micro-organisms obtaining food from dead and decaying animal or plant tisue) and parasitic species. Pathogenic species produce powerful toxins. In man they are responsible for numerous infections such as scarlatina (scarlet fever), tonsillitis (inflammation of tonsils), erysipelas (an acute, specific,infectious disease, in which there is a spreading, streptococcal inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, accompanied by fever and constitutional disturbances), endocarditis (inflammation of the inner lining of the heart-endothelium-most commonly due to rheumatic fever), rheumatic fever, glomerulonephritis ( a term used in bilateral, non-suppurative inflammation of the glomeruli of the kidneys), and wound infections in hospital.
Scarlet fever- Infection by haemolytic streptococcus producing a rash. Occurs mainly in children. Begins commonly with a throat infection, leading to pyrexia (fever) and the outbreak of a punctate (dotted or spotted) erythematous (reddening) eruption of the skin. Characteristically the area around the mouth escapes (circumoral palor). In strep throat, there is no such rash.

http://www.webmd.com/

They have everything!

strep only,involves the tonsels. And scarlet fever is a deadly form of strep!

Scarlet fever is another form of group A strep disease that can follow strep throat. It is usually contagious and lasts for a specific length of time whether or not it is treated. If you have strep throat infection, you will have a red and painful sore throat and may have white patches on your tonsils. You also may have swollen lymph nodes in your neck, run a fever, and have a headache. Nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain can occur but are more common in children than in adults.

Read up on it some more at: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/stre...

Strep Throat is an infection of the oral pharynx and tonsils by streptococcus.
scarlet fever is an acute communicable聽disease (usually in children) characterized by fever and a red rash.

Scarlet fever is a term used for strep throat with a rash. Strep throat is a throat infection caused by a type of streptococcal bacteria.

What causes scarlet fever?
Scarlet fever is caused by streptococcal (strep) bacteria, the same bacteria that cause strep throat. There are many different strains of strep bacteria, some of which cause more serious illness than others. The type of strep that infects the throat and causes scarlet fever is called group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABS).

What are the symptoms of scarlet fever?
Symptoms that may occur before the rash include:

Fever of 101 掳F(38.33 掳C) or higher.
Sore throat and difficulty swallowing.
White or yellow spots or coating on the throat and tonsils.
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck.
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What is strep throat?
Strep throat is a bacterial infection of the tissues in the back of the throat and the tonsils. The tissues become irritated and inflamed, causing a sudden, severe sore throat.

What causes strep throat?
Strep throat is caused by streptococcal (strep) bacteria. There are many different strains of strep bacteria, some of which cause more serious illness than others. The type of strep that most commonly infects the throat is called group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABS). Other types that can sometimes infect the throat are groups C and G strep bacteria.

Streptococcal infection (group A) is also known as streptococcal disease. It is caused by a bacterium known as Group A (beta-haemolytic) Streptococcus Also strep throat. It is basically a less serious form of Scarlet Fever.

It can cause sore throat (pharyngitis), scarlet fever or serious complications in rare cases.