Topics : HEALTH : Man Is Ill With Rare Form of Strep : Alhambra resident was stricken with potentially deadly bacteria that eats away at flesh. It’s the first such county case this year.

An Alhambra man is recovering from surgery after being stricken with a potentially deadly bacteria that eats away at the flesh--the first such case reported in Los Angeles County this year, according to health officials.

The condition, a rare but virulent form of the streptococcus bacteria called necrotising fasciitis, has been the subject of lurid press reports in Britain recently, where 11 people have died of the disease since Jan. 1. Stateside, three people fell ill, in Connecticut and Florida.

Los Angeles County health officials Wednesday emphasized that this form of strep is extremely rare and poses little risk for public health. However, they said, they have seen a slight increase in the number of cases.

“We’re not being invaded by a new flesh-eating bacteria, and we don’t see this as an imminent danger,” said Carol Peterson, a medical epidemiologist for the county. “It’s very unusual for these complications to result.”

However, she continued, “we are concerned, as we are with every communicable disease. This is the same bacteria that causes strep laryngitis. In a few cases, more severe infections can result. Necrotising fasciitis is one of those complications that does seem to be increasing, but it’s still very rare.”

Michael Kyaw, 37, was admitted to Garfield Medical Center in Monterey Park on May 20 with a lesion on his thigh, a hospital spokeswoman said. The hospital’s quick-witted emergency room physician, Stanley Toy, suspected the rare bacteria because he had seen two such cases in San Francisco some years back.

During the two hours it took to prepare the emergency room for surgery, Kyaw’s lesion grew from 8 centimeters to 20 centimeters to cover most of his thigh, said hospital spokeswoman Wendy Chan.

Doctors had hoped to treat the infection with antibiotics, but it spread so quickly that they were forced to cut away the skin and part of the leg muscle to remove the infection.

Kyaw told hospital officials he did not recall how he injured his leg, allowing the infection to take hold. But he suffers from a muscle-weakness disorder, and health experts say this may have played a role in his susceptibility to the disease.