Short answers, pulled from the story.
The name Streptococcus was coined in 1877 by Viennese surgeon Albert Theodor Billroth, who lived from 1829 to 1894. It combines the Ancient Greek words streptós, meaning "twisted", and kókkos, meaning "grain", describing the twisted chains these bacteria form when dividing.
Group A Streptococcus, or GAS, has been estimated to cause more than 500,000 deaths globally every year, making it one of the world's leading bacterial pathogens. It is responsible for diseases ranging from strep throat and impetigo to necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.
Streptococcus agalactiae, known as Group B Streptococcus or GBS, is the most common cause of meningitis in infants from one month to three months old. It can also cause pneumonia and bacteremia in newborns and the elderly.
Rheumatic fever is a complication of untreated Group A Streptococcus infection that affects the joints, kidneys, and heart valves. It occurs not because the bacterium invades these tissues directly, but because antibodies the immune system produces to fight the infection cross-react with proteins in the body's own tissues, causing the immune system to attack itself.
Streptococcus thermophilus is used in the production of Emmentaler, the cheese commonly known as Swiss cheese, as well as yogurt. It is one of the few streptococcal species with a direct role in food production.
Streptococcal infections are most commonly treated with penicillin or amoxicillin, which work by disrupting peptidoglycan production in the bacterial cell wall. Treatment typically involves a 10-day oral antibiotic course. For patients with penicillin allergies or skin infections, clindamycin is used instead, as it works by disrupting protein synthesis within the cell.