Deadly Strain of Strep Bacteria May Be Returning
The fatal infections that inspired headlines about “flesh-eating bacteria” could indicate the return of bacteria that caused a severe form of scarlet fever a century ago, killing thousands before disappearing.
“It’s come back, or it’s learned a new trick,” said Vincent Fischetti of Rockefeller University in New York, who directs one of the nation’s leading laboratories for research on streptococcus bacteria.
“If you look at infectious diseases, they run in cycles,” said Dr. Edward Kaplan of the University of Minnesota, director of a World Health Organization laboratory devoted to the study of strep. “The Phoenix returns.”
The overwrought headlines, such as “Killer Bug Ate My Face,” first appeared in England, where 15 people have been afflicted with the deadly bacteria since Jan. 1. Eleven have died. Some did indeed lose skin or muscle as a result of the infection, which can spread as rapidly as an inch an hour.
In the United States, such reports have touched off a series of news stories warning of the bacteria’s dangers. Two people were hospitalized in Connecticut, and both have had “radical surgery,” a hospital official in Norwalk said.
A man in Coral Springs, Fla., and a man in Alhambra, Calif., also were recovering after surgery for the disease.
But the news coverage is more widespread than the bacteria. Deadly strains of streptococcus remain rare, and the outbreaks are isolated. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 500 to 1,500 infections occur each year in the United States.
Milder strains of strep bacteria are common, infecting perhaps 10% to 15% of Americans, the CDC said. They cause strep throat and a mild form of scarlet fever.
The deadly strains produce a toxin that poisons skin and muscle tissue or internal organs, causing the body’s own disease fighters to careen out of control.
“Once that’s begun, you’re in trouble. There’s no way to reverse it,” Fischetti said.
The deadly strains appeared in the United States about five years ago, he said. “It’s a highly toxic group-A strep,” Fischetti said. “Strains like this have been around since the turn of the century, when scarlet fever was a deadly disease.”
Today, scarlet fever is rarely serious, Fischetti said. But in the 1800s, it was often accompanied by the same kind of tissue poisoning seen in the recent cases. The bacteria are spread primarily through wounds or cuts in the skin. If caught early, the infection is treatable, usually with penicillin.
Doctors treat advanced infections not only with antibiotics but also by cutting out the infected area, including amputating an infected arm or leg, if necessary.
“Our physicians have reported seeing cases where this moves as rapidly as an inch an hour, so it is vital that people see a doctor very, very quickly,” said Bob Howard, a spokesman at the CDC.
