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Many different types of bacteria can cause this type of infection. A very severe and usually deadly form of necrotizing soft tissue infection is due to Streptococcus pyogenes, which is sometimes called "flesh-eating bacteria." Necrotizing soft tis...
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Flesh-eating disease is more properly called necrotizing fasciitis, a rare condition in which bacteria destroy tissues underlying the skin. This tissue death , called necrosis or gangrene , spreads rapidly. This disease can be fatal in as little a...
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Bacteria are prokaryotes (unicellular organisms with no membrane-enclosed nucleus) with simple structures that typically range in size from about 0.5 to 20 micrometers.
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Knowing whether your infection is caused by a virus or a bacterium makes a difference in how it is treated.
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How do you know if you have a sinus infection?
Harvey B. Simon, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a member of the Health Sciences Technology Faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the founding editor of Harvard Men's Health Watch (www.health.harvard.edu) and the author of six consumer health books, including The Harvard Medical School Guide to Men's Health (Simon and Schuster, 2002) and The No Sweat Exercise Plan. Lose Weight, Get Healthy and Live Longer (McGraw-Hill, 2006). Dr. Simon practices at the Massachusetts General Hospital; he received the London Prize for Excellence in Teaching from Harvard and MIT.
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