Patients experience fever and chills. Lymph nodes may be swollen. The skin may blister and then scab over. Perianal cellulitis may also occur with itching and painful bowel movements. The erysipelas rash may occur on face, arms, or legs and has raised borders.
Cellulitis begins with minor trauma, such as a bruise, usually to an extremity.
The organism may be cultured from skin lesions or recovered from blood. Depending on the severity, treatment involves either oral or intravenous antibiotics. Intravenous drug users also are at high risk. Severe GAS disease may also occur in healthy persons with no known risk factors. All severe GAS infections may lead to shock, multisystem organ failure, and death.