GP and paediatrics specialist Dr David Capehorn provides an update for GPs on recognition and management of serious infectious diseases in children
Childhood infectious disease has changed shape rather than disappeared. The UK immunisation programme has dramatically reduced bacterial meningitis and many vaccine-preventable infections, but measles, pertussis and scarlet fever have all resurged in recent years as vaccine coverage has faltered and social mixing has resumed after the Covid-19 pandemic.
GPs often see children with non-specific febrile rashes, often brought in by anxious parents. Of course, complications occur when the child’s mother is also pregnant. Distinguishing between benign and serious rashes can be challenging. Knowing when to test, when to notify, when to treat and when to reassure, is key to successful management.
Learning objectives
This module addresses five practical questions to bring GPs up to date on:
- How to recognise measles, a condition many GPs have never seen.
- What to do when a child’s rash suggests a viral aetiology and the mother is pregnant.
- When to think of whooping cough (pertussis) and how to investigate.
- How to spot eczema herpeticum and what action is needed when suspected.
- What features in a child with sore throat prompt suspicion of scarlet fever, and how this affects management.
Author: Dr David Capehorn is a GPwSI in paediatrics based in Somerset
Published: 14.11.2025
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