Short answers, pulled from the story.
Albert Theodor Billroth coined the term Streptococcus in 1877. He was a surgeon based in Vienna during the late nineteenth century who derived the name from Ancient Greek words meaning twisted and grain.
The scientific community reorganized the classification of these bacteria in 1984 by separating many species into new genera like Enterococcus and Lactococcus. Currently over fifty species remain recognized within the original genus Streptococcus after this taxonomic shift clarified relationships between different bacterial types.
Scientists distinguish strains by observing their behavior on blood agar plates where alpha-hemolytic species cause oxidation of iron in hemoglobin molecules creating a greenish color. Beta-hemolytic species cause complete rupture of red blood cells leaving clear zones while gamma-hemolytic species cause no visible hemolysis at all.
Group A streptococcus causes more than five hundred thousand deaths globally each year and is responsible for conditions like strep throat and impetigo in children. Untreated infections may lead to acute rheumatic fever which damages joints kidneys and heart valves due to immune cross-reaction.
Infection can pass from animals to humans in several documented cases such as when dogs lick hands or through direct mouth-to-mouth contact with medium-sized canines. Group G streptococci have been found in marine mammals and fish while S. phocae associates with meningoencephalitis and sepsis in these aquatic creatures.