skin, subcut, muscle and fat affected

Demographics: anyone

Aetiology

• Penetrating and crush injuries
• surgical procedures
• cuts of marine origin

Causative organisms

• Type I (polymicrobial ie, more than one bacteria involved)
• Type II (due to haemolytic group A streptococcus, and/or staphylococci including methicillin-resistant strains/MRSA)
• Type III (gas gangrene eg, due to clostridium)
• Other: marine organisms (vibrio species, Aeromonas hydrophila) and fungal infections (candida and zygomycetes).

Risk Factors

• following varicella infection (chickenpox).
• Diabetes (polymicrobial)
• surgery