Flesh Destroying Virus hits UK

[Heikki Henttonen]

In article <YAJCC.30.2DE2D493 at ntx.city.unisa.edu.au>, 
YAJCC at ntx.city.unisa.edu.au (James Crockart) says:
>
>Reported in the paper, TV and radio news the other day was a story about 
a 
>very nasty sounding virus. It was called necrosis.(s something.)
>
>What it does, is attack a common bacteria (found in about 10% of the 
>population) which causes the normally harmless bacteria to turn into 
some 
>frightening disease which starts eating away at the subcutaneous layers 
of fat 
>at about 1-4 inches an hour! It apparently feeds off the dead flesh and 
death 
>occours in about 24 hours unless it is treated.
>
>The only effective treatment of this disease so far has been the 
amputation of 
>the affected limb.
>
>7 cases have been reported in a few months arround Gloustoshire in 
England, 
>although I heard mention that there had been infections in Norway and 
New 
>Zealand.
>
>Has anyone heard anything about this virus? How it is transmitted? Where 
it 
>comes from? How long has it been known? 
>
>To me it sounds like some deadly virus accidently released from some 
>top-secret military lab...
>
>Yours in paranoia...
>
>
>James Crockart                 |  Hey! Wouldn't it be great if stars 
were
>University of South Australia  |  just like our own sun but only very 
far
>yajcc at ntx.city.unisa.edu.au    |  away? What do you mean, 'no, not 
really'?!
>
>

It is Streptococcus A, not a virus, and cases have been of different 
strains. There is nothing specially new here. So, do not get paranoid.