Supercharged ‘clones’ spark scarlet fever’s re-emergence – EurekAlert

Professor Mark Walker and the team found a variety of Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria that had acquired “superantigen” toxins, forming new clones.
“The toxins would have been transferred into the bacterium when it was infected by viruses that carried the toxin genes,” Professor Walker said.
“We’ve shown that these acquired toxins allow Streptococcus pyogenes to better colonise its host, which likely allows it to out-compete other strains.
“These supercharged bacterial clones have been causing…

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