Scientists have discovered how a type of flesh-eating bug disables a key part of the body’s immune system. A team from Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust looked at why the streptococcus A bacteria can be deadly in some cases. It causes conditions ranging from mild throat infections to the flesh-eating bug, necrotising fasciitis. The Hammersmith team found group A strep can destroy a key immune system messenger which should alert the body to the bacteria’s presence. Many people carry the bacteria harmlessly on their skin and in their nose and throat. But if it can cause severe bloodstream infections, toxic shock syndrome - and necrotising fasciitis. Over 2,000 cases of invasive disease caused by strep A are reported every year. Up to one in five patients die, if the bacteria get into the blood.
