Apologies for the radio silence, so to speak. October has been a killer month for me and November won't be that much better, but I'll work on getting back to posting on a regular basis, including a new post for tomorrow. In the meantime, a few things to check out:
Mike on treating strep throat (which he's correct is near and dear to my heart--though not literally, thankfully, since they can cause heart disease!).
A belated Friday the 13th Tangled Bank
Last week's Grand Rounds.
More like this
The NY Times recently had a very good article about strep throat, which is caused by group A streptococci (which, if I'm not mistaken are near and dear to fellow ScienceB
Everyone knows that bacteria/viruses/pathogens make you sick.
Everyone knows your immune system fights back against these guys so you get better.
But did you know that pathogens can (accidentally) make your immune system mutiny? Turn your own immune system against you?
He looked sick---really sick. He was sitting on a stretcher in an ER bay, flushed, breathing a bit quickly, but his youth seemed to compensate for the acuity of his illness, and he didn't feel nearly as bad has he looked.
Necrotizing fasciitis (the so-called "flesh-eating disease") is a rare manifestation of infection with the group A streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes, though occasionally other bacteria cause it as well).
No worries. We'll keep checking in.