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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Subcutaneous Infection of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
Published on: February 9, 2011
Bacteremia and ecthyma caused by Streptococcus pyogenes in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
1Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Medicine, Charleston 29425.
Abstract:
Ecthyma is an ulcerated form of impetigo due to Streptococcus pyogenes, seen primarily in children with poor hygiene. The authors report a homosexual man with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who developed severe ecthyma and bacteremia caused by S. pyogenes. Opsonizing antibody to the M protein of S. pyogenes is important in immunity to this organism. Patients with AIDS may have defective humoral immunity as well as defective cellular immunity, and such a defect may have rendered this patient abnormally susceptible to severe infection with S. pyogenes.
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