Flesh eating bacteria!
When I was in seventh grade, I did a report on deadly bacterial diseases- e. coli, meningitis, and the flesh eating bacteria, to be precise. While I was writing the paper, there was a breakout of flesh eating bacteria in Texas, which I thought was a neat (if slightly traumatic) coincidence. (Texas is apparently a breeding ground for it, as the bacteria responsible is released in the waste products of the oysters on the Gulf coast.)
It's caused by the same bacteria that cause strep throat, scarlet fever, and a form of toxic shock syndrome, and is related (if not the same) as the ones that cause meningitis. So how does a sore throat become a gaping hole in your flesh? The flesh eating bacterium (the condition is actually called necrotizing fasciitis) is a run of the mill strep bacterium with a virus that causes it to mutate into something really nasty- and that's why it makes your body decompose. Since it's bacteria, it can be treated quickly and effectively with antibiotics, just like strep throat- but death rates are still quite high. (Yes, I spent a fair amount of time being a germophobe after writing that paper.)
It's what killed Jim Henson, actually, and that's kind of ironic, because the whole point of this post was to point out that link up there. When I was researching necrotizing fasciitis in seventh grade, I came across a parody list of "failed Beanie Babies"- and the flesh eating bacterium was on the list. Well, boo-ya, my friend, because now there are microbe plushies, and the necrotizing fasciitis one is just the cutest thing ever.
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