Global Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance

Abstract

THE group A β-hemolytic streptococci, of the species Streptococcus pyogenes, can sicken or kill us in many ways. They commonly cause acute pharyngitis. They may initiate rheumatic fever or glomerulonephritis. They also cause scarlet fever, impetigo, erysipelas, pyoderma, puerperal sepsis, wound infection, and a rapidly spreading cellulitis. They can produce a fulminant and fatal septicemia, as was called to public attention recently by the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson. Recent reports, moreover, suggest a resurgence of strains that cause rheumatic fever or fulminant septicemia.¹ A cure for group A streptococcal infection was one of the truly extraordinary benefits . . .