HEALTH bosses have issued a warning to parents after cases of scarlet fever were confirmed at an Ayrshire primary school.

Officials from NHS Ayrshire and Arran are urging parents and guardians to keep an eye on their children for any potential symptoms.

Scarlet fever is a contagious infection that mostly affects young children.

Cases of the infection have been reported at Annanhill Primary in Kilmarnock, part of the town's Grange Campus.

The health board has now written to parents and carers of children who attend this school with information about the symptoms, and what to do if they develop symptoms.

Lynne McNiven, the board's director of public health, said: "Our public health department has been notified of a small number of cases of scarlet fever within Annanhill Primary School in East Ayrshire.

"As a precaution, we have written to parents and carers of children who attend this school with information about the symptoms, and what to do if they develop symptoms.

"There has been an increase in the number of scarlet fever cases across Scotland in recent weeks and so we are asking parents and guardians to be vigilant of the symptoms and to help stop the spread."

If you think you, or your child, have scarlet fever, the advice is to:

• See your GP or contact NHS 111 as soon as possible out of hours for a proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

• Make sure that you or your child take the full course of any antibiotics prescribed by the doctor.

• Stay at home, away from nursery, school, or work for at least 24 hours after starting the antibiotic treatment, to avoid spreading the infection.

Ms McNiven added: "Children who have had chickenpox recently are more likely to develop more serious infection during an outbreak of scarlet fever and so parents should remain vigilant for symptoms such as a persistent high fever, cellulitis (skin infection) and arthritis (joint pain and swelling)."

You can find more information on scarlet fever on the NHS inform website.