Streptococcal gangrene and the so called "flesh eating bacteria disease". A rare and devastating disease

Streptococcal gangrene, an unusual form of necrotizing fasciitis with fatal outcome, has been recently rediscovered and has gained popularity with the name <<disease of flesh eating bacteria>>. The incidence of this and other severe diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae has been sugested to be increasing. Only three patients with this disease have been studied at our institution in the last 12 years and in a review of a bacteremic infection s caused by beta-hemolytic streptococci a significant increase of these inf ections was not observed. We report here the clinical and pathological char acteristics of streptococcal gangrene as well as a review of the more recen t literature.