An infection by flesh-eating bacteria, or necrotizing fasciitis, is rare. However, Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as Group A Streptococcus (GAS), is a very common bacterium. When S. pyogenes gets into your body through a wound like a cut, it can cause the invasive GAS disease necrotizing fasciitis, which kills tissue at a rapid pace. Between 9,000 and 11,500 Americans contract an invasive GAS disease each year and about 6% to 7% of those develop necrotizing fasciitis.
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