Frequency
· hand, foot and mouth disease page visits increased 46% from 1.9 million views in 2023 to 2.8 million visits in 2024, ranking it third;
· slapped cheek syndrome page visits rose by 220% from 830,000 visits in 2023 to 2.6 million in 2024 (4th);
· scarlet fever had 1.9 million page visits in 2024, up 33% from 1.4 million in 2023 (10th).
There were also 2 million visits each in 2024 for advice on rashes in babies and children (8th) and for chickenpox (9th).
Several diseases commonly associated with childhood are on the list of notifiable diseases medical practitioners must report. Chickenpox (varicella) was added to the list in 2024.6,7
As of April 9 2025, suspected (but not necessarily confirmed) notifications of infectious diseases (NOIDs) for the past 52 weeks in England included: 8,9
· measles 5,575 cases;
· mumps 3,996 cases;
· rubella 170 cases;
· whooping cough 25,682 cases.
Reducing complication risk includes taking steps to keep infections isolated and by vaccination where possible (see table).
Table: Common infections in children5,10,11
|
Disease |
Cause |
Incubation period |
How long infectious? |
Avoid nursery, school or work |
Vaccine available? |
|
Viral |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chickenpox12,13 |
varicella-zoster |
1-3 weeks |
from 2 days before spots appear for typically 5-6 days once all the spots have scabbed over |
until spots have scabbed over |
yes |
|
Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD)14,15,16,17 |
usually coxsackievirus A type 16 but other strains of coxsackieviruses / Enteroviruses also possible |
3-6 days |
first 5-7 days after symptoms start |
until starting to feel better (~10-14 days) |
Not in the UK currently. Where available, vaccines only prevent some HMFD viruses |
|
Measles18,19,20 |
Morbillivirus |
10-12 days |
from first symptoms (usually from 4 days before rash) until about 4 days after rash appears |
>4 days after rash appears |
yes (MMR) |
|
Mumps21,22,23,24 |
Rubulavirus |
average 19 days, ranging from 14-25 days |
from a few days before symptoms appear |
>5 days after symptoms first appear |
yes (MMR) |
|
RSV25,26,27 |
respiratory syncytial virus |
2-8 days |
1-2 days before symptoms start, for 3-8 days (4 weeks in some)* |
1-2 weeks |
yes |
|
Rubella28,29 |
Rubivirus |
2-3 weeks |
1 week before symptoms start to 5 days after rash appears |
>5 days after rash first appears |
yes (MMR) |
|
Slapped cheek syndrome (aka fifth disease)30,31 |
Parvovirus B19 |
4-14 days (occasionally up to 21 days for first symptoms) |
prior to or during initial symptom phase |
until after the rash appears and feeling well enough |
no |
|
Bacterial |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scarlet fever (scarlatina)32,33,34 |
Streptococcus pyogenes Group A Streptococcus (GAS) or Strep A), |
1-7 days (usually 2-5 days) after initial Strep A infection |
2-3 weeks if no antibiotics given, 1 day once antibiotics started |
>1 day after starting antibiotics |
no |
|
Whooping cough (pertussis)35,36,37 |
Bordetella pertussis or B. parapertussis |
7-10 days (possibly up to 21 says) |
up to 3 weeks after coughing starts |
>48 hours after starting antibiotics, or >2 weeks after cough started and no antibiotics used |
yes |
* Some infants and immunocompromised people.26
The NHS Conditions A to Z and the NHS Inform Infections and Poisoning sites have images of typical rashes and other signs, along with other diagnostic information, useful for helping recognise and manage a particular condition.5,10