Scarlet Fever Strikes North Korea

As though the world were not already a dangerous place, a new/old danger, disease is rearing its ugly head in North Korea. Several days ago I heard an Associated Press account, noting a Scarlet Fever epidemic emerging in that country. Strangely enough, I have noted almost no mention of it in the MSM since that time.

Scarlet fever has been spreading in North Korea and threatens to become a full-blown epidemic despite efforts by authorities to contain the disease, a news report said Wednesday.

It seems to me, that a pandemic in an already unstable regime that is at present seeking nuclear weapons is a story of international import. Apparently this is not the case, given the almost universal indifference the MSM has shown the story.

After that initial report, which I noted in passing, I have seen no follow up whatsoever by any American news organization. While we hear much about the Nuclear ambitions of North Korea, this has gone, for the most part, under the radar.


The International Press has given it some notice. It is time that we focused on the ramifications as well.

The disease has spread so quickly in the country because the immune systems of most North Koreans are weak and the country lacks adequate supplies of drugs.

Scarlet fever is a bacterial infection that produces a rash, sore throat and fever. Without the proper treatment with antibiotics, the disease could produce dangerous complications, especially in children, and could develop into rheumatic fever, which can cause damage to the heart and inflammation of the joints.

While I seriously doubt that disease will find its way into the inner circles of Kim Jong Il’s regime, this is just one more evidence of the plight of the North Korean people under the brutal boot of this tinpot dictator. I actually find it curious that the leftists in our nation have not seized upon this story to demonstrate how the failures of American policy are hurting the people.

For myself, the concern I have is that this demonstrates even more the failure of the North Korean regime to meet even the basic needs of its people. As the plight of the people become even more severe, I fear that regime will become even more desperate in their attempts to gain international prestige by rattling their saber, and creating chaos in this world through the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Though North Korea and its leader might be small in stature, like small men of the past, they seek to increase their own importance by dominating others. A desperate dictator is a dangerous dictator.

This is a story that bears watching!

David Hinz
HinzSight Team