PEMPHIGUS (Gr. rrEµ¢eE, a bubble)  ,a skin disease, in which large blebs appear, on a red base, containing a clear or yellowish fluid; the blebs occasion much irritation, and when they burst leave raw ulcerated surfaces . The disease is principally known in unhealthy or neglected children . A variety of the malady, pemphigus foliaceous, affects the whole body, and gradually proves fatal . Pemphigus of an acute septicaemic type occurs in butchers or those who handle hides, and a diplococcus has been isolated by William Bullock . The treatment is mainly constitutional, by means of good nourishment, warm baths, local sedatives and tonics . In chronic pemphigus, streptococci have been found in the blebs, and the opsonic index was low to streptococci . Improvement has been known to take place on the injection of a vaccine of streptococci .