ERYSIPELAS

acute infectious disease, characterised by a spreading inflammation of the skin, caused by a streptococcus, a form of bacterium, usually invading a slight surface wound of the face. The onset is sudden with rise of temperature, and a red patch soon appears on the skin, spreading in all directions, blisters and pustules forming. The face is swollen and painful, but ina few days the temperature goes down and the skin comes off,