Erysipelas: microbiological and pathogenic data.

Streptococcus pyogenes is considered as the primary cause of erysipelas and the virulence factors of this species are reviewed. The role of Staphyloco ccus aureus alone or associated with Streptococcus pyogenes remains unclear . Other etiologies are infrequent. Several techniques were used to detect b acteria (direct examination, culture, antigen or genome assay) in local sam ples (needle aspiration, swab...), in others sites (throat, blood cultures) , or specific antibodies. The performance of the various diagnosis methods is evaluated. Despite the combination of 2 or more methods, the etiology re mains unknown in almost 20 p. too of the cases.