A previously well baby was found to be snuffly at the routine check at 6 weeks of age. Two weeks later, over a 24 period she was reluctant to feed and early that morning she woke up screaming and crying. Suddenly she became limp and cyanotic. She was resuscitated by her parents and taken to hospital where she was found to be dead on arrival.Postmortem examination showed the trachea to contain some frothy fluid. The lungs were congested with subpleural petechial haemorrhages in the interlobular fissures; no other abnormalities were found. Microbiology confirmed group A ,1 haemolytic streptococcus (GABHS) from the blood, lungs, and heart. The pathologist felt that the cause of death was acute bronchiolitis.