Strep throat bug also causes flesh-eating disease, but why is a 'random game': Montreal doctor

An infectious disease physician says that when someone is infected with group A streptococcus bacteria, it's 'kind of a random game' what comes next.

An infectious disease physician says that when someone is infected with group A streptococcus bacteria, it's "kind of a random game" what comes next.

Dr. Donald Vinh says it could turn into the type of illness known as strep throat.

But in rare cases, it could result in the rare flesh-eating disease necrotizing fasciitis that recently claimed the leg of a firefighter from Vancouver.

Vinh, with the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), says necrotizing fasciitis is among the "scariest" infectious diseases he's ever seen, one of the "classic bugs" that every medical professional is taught to watch for because it can kill within hours.

The tissue-killing infection can spread quickly, he says, even if the patient receives antibiotics or surgical treatment to remove the dead tissue or limb.

"Despite optimal therapy, the mortality rate for this beast is alarmingly high," he said.

Vinh says people can carry the "strep A" bacteria on their skin or in their nose and throat without getting sick, or they may develop strep throat.