Streptomania Hits Home

A bacterial strain that terrified Britain pops up in the U.S., but doctors say there's no need to panic

Severe invasive group a streptococcus is the official scientific name, but labels like "deadly flesh-eating bacteria" can be too deliciously terrifying to resist. That's what British tabloids decided when they learned that the germ had caused a mini-outbreak of lethal infections in Gloucestershire last month, bringing the death toll in England and Wales for this particularly virulent form of strep to 11 for the year. The papers fanned fears with such headlines as EATEN ALIVE and KILLER BUG ATE MY FACE. And when a handful of cases, including at least one death, were reported in the U.S. last week, the coverage,...

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