Nec fasc./Flesh-eating bacteria/Chompers

"Necrotizing fasciitis. Explain...with pictures please."
Many names for one nasty disease. Necrotizing fasciitis is a type of deep tissue infection. (Fascia is the stuff between and around all your organs and muscles and blood vessels. Fasciitis is an inflammation of the fascia. Necrotizing means it kills cells and tissues.) It's caused by toxins that are produced by certain strains of bacteria, the most common of which is Group A Streptococcus (Group A strep is also known as Strep pyogenes and as GAS). There is no one type of bacteria that causes nec fasc. The bacteria destroy the deep tissue of the body, and it's fatal if not treated quickly and effectively.
Keep this bacteria away from me, please.
You might have toxin-producing GAS all over your skin right now, for all you know. (sleep tight!) But people who carry bacteria on or in them don't necessarily develop infections. Certain people can develop infections after surgery, or because they have breaks in the skin (like with eczema), or because they have a weakened immune system. Only very rarely do people actually develop necrotizing fasciitis.
So how do I know if I have it??
There are no specific symptoms, which makes it a bugger to pick up. And it progresses rapidly and is fatal if not treated quickly enough. Initial symptoms are similar to those of a soft-tissue infection, such as pain, swelling, or redness. But the infection doesn't always occur where the bacteria get in (like an open cut on your hand). They can travel around your bloodstream and set up shop anywhere they'd like.
A rapidly fatal disease with nebulous symptoms sounds like a nightmare to diagnose.
But that's what makes medicine fun! Sometimes you can put on your monacle and play Sherlock.
This sounds familiar...where have I heard of nec fasc before?
It's in a 'Scrubs' episode, where JD correctly diagnoses his patient with it (which he calls "Chompers") after watching a Friday night TV special on it. There was a recent article in The Boston Globe Magazine about a woman from central MA who developed this infection after having a C-section, and is now a quadruple-amputee (yes, you read that right). You can read about her amazing story here.
What about those pictures?
No way am I posting pics here. Google image "necrotizing fasciitis" at your own risk.
So how do you treat it?
Surgery! All of the dead and infected tissue has to be cut out, along with a margin of healthy tissue. Plus some potent antibiotics. Still, the mortality rate is 30%.
That's gross.
Yes. It is.