Summary

Group A streptococci (Streptococcus pyogenes) are probably best known for causing streptococcal pharyngitis, or strep throat. But they also cause more kinds of disease than any other species of bacteria. Group A streptococci are responsible for diseases that range from mild skin conditions to scarlet fever to rheumatic fever to the devastating and sometimes deadly necrotizing fasciitis, commonly known as "flesh-eating bacteria." This revision of Streptococcus (Group A) examines the history, epidemiology, and future prospects for the ongoing battle against group A streptococci, and provides up-to-date information on research breakthroughs and the latest outbreaks of group A diseases. Updates include information on antibiotic resistance, current research on scarlet fever, and the progress on a vaccine.

Chapters include:

• One Bacterium, Many Different Diseases
• Historical Overview
• Basic Microbiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of the Group A Streptococcus
• Superficial Infections: Streptococcal Pharyngitis and Impetigo
• Scarlet Fever
• Resurgence of an Old Pathogen: Invasive Streptococcal Diseases
• Post-Streptococcal Complications
• Virulence Factors of Group A Streptococci
• Vaccine Prospects and the Future.

Specifications

Full-color photographs and illustrations. Sidebars. Further reading. References. Endnotes. Glossary. Web sites. Index.

About the Author(s)

Tara C. Smith, Ph.D., is assistant professor in the department of epidemiology at the College of Public Health, University of Iowa. She received her B.S. in biology from Yale University and her Ph.D. from the Medical College of Ohio.

Foreword by David Heymann, World Health Organization