a cause of a mild skin infection called impetigo, but it also can be responsible for very serious infections of the blood and other tissues

a common cause of illness in children

a leading cause in about half of all cases which arise in the community setting

a likely cause of an illness, for example, in necrotising fasciitis, and antibiotics and surgery are planned accordingly

an old microbe making a comeback--it produces a toxin similar to that found in the now- rare disease scarlet fever--or a new strain resulting from a recent mutation

Very commonly used shortened form of Streptococcus, a very common and important group of bacteria. See Streptococcus

"Strep" is the abbreviated form of streptococcus, a spherical-shaped bacterium occurring generally in chains.

s treptococcus, a group of bacteria that cause a multitude of diseases