Mozart Done in By Strep Throat?

(CBS/AP)  For more than 200 years, there has been speculation about what killed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart so suddenly in 1791.

Was the 35-year-old composer poisoned? Could it have been kidney failure? A parasite?

A report in Tuesday's Annals of Internal Medicine suggests it might have been something far more common: a strep infection.

Researchers looked at death records in Mozart's Vienna in the months surrounding his death. The data suggests that there was a minor strep epidemic around that time, and some of Mozart's symptoms, including swelling and fever, could have come from strep.

Mozart's official death certificate listed hitziges Frieselfieber - "heated miliary fever" - as the cause of death, according to a Reuters report. The disease refers to an accompanying rash that looks like millet seeds.

Researchers said that the composer's symptoms, which also included back pain and a rash, could be consistent with a strep infection and kidney inflammation.

[linda5508]

So he died of <a href="http://www.strepthroatsymptoms.org">strep</a> way back in the 1790's. Why id this brought up now ?

[Sloughfoot]

Tabloid News - Good Job CBS.

[afmcalax]

If only he would have had private for-profit health insurance he would probably still be alive today! That darn socialized European medicine killed him too.

[brianbwb-2009]

There was no socialized European medicine back then. Mozart most probably died because he couldn't afford the continued private care, because his patron (boss) decided to cut his coverage.