Health officials racing to identify cause of rise in streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, which has a 30% fatality rate
Experts warn that a rare but dangerous bacterial infection is spreading at a record rate in Japan, with officials struggling to identify the cause.
The number of cases in 2024 is expected to exceed last year’s record numbers, while concern is growing that the harshest and potentially deadly form of group A streptococcal disease – streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) – will continue to spread, after the presence of highly virulent and infectious strains were confirmed in Japan.
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) said: “There are still many unknown factors regarding the mechanisms behind fulminant (severe and sudden) forms of streptococcus, and we are not at the stage where we can explain them.”
Provisional figures released by the NIID recorded 941 cases of STSS were reported last year. In the first two months of 2024, 378 cases have already been recorded, with infections identified in all but two of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
With the amount of dudes I see in this country walking away from the urinal, rinsing their hands without soap, and then using said hands to gargle, I’m not surprised strep is running rampant. Guess it’s time to put the mask back on. FML.
I have noticed this too lol
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Experts warn that a rare but dangerous bacterial infection is spreading at a record rate in Japan, with officials struggling to identify the cause.
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) said: “There are still many unknown factors regarding the mechanisms behind fulminant (severe and sudden) forms of streptococcus, and we are not at the stage where we can explain them.”
The move also prompted people to lower their guard, in a country where widespread mask wearing, hand sanitising and avoiding the “three Cs” were credited with keeping Covid-19 deaths comparatively low.
Ken Kikuchi, a professor of infectious diseases at Tokyo Women’s Medical University, says he is “very concerned” about the dramatic rise this year in the number of patients with severe invasive streptococcal infections.
Japan’s health ministry recommends that people take the same basic hygiene precautions against strep A that became a part of everyday life during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We want people to take preventive steps such as keeping your fingers and hands clean, and exercising cough etiquette,” the health minister, Keizo Takemi, told reporters earlier this year, according to the Japan Times.
The original article contains 686 words, the summary contains 185 words. Saved 73%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Makes me wonder. This is a strain of Strep A - has this become immune against antibiotics?
Wow the article actually acknowledges immune damage from Covid as a causative factor. I’m amazed and happy that people are finally waking up to this.
Waking up to the fact that covid infections often lead to other problems? I don’t know what kind of information the media in your country communicates but that has been pretty well known for a long time now.
Agreed, the media here is complete shit.
I don’t know what kind of information the media in your country communicates but that has been pretty well known for a long time now.
In the US, antivaxxers downplaying polio and measles are given the same amount of credibility as actual scientists and medical personnel in the name of “fairness”, and Republicans waged a war against anyone reporting COVID infection data, so yeah, our standards are VERY low. Basically any kind of acknowledgement is ground breaking.
That’s awful. Disinformation is a problem everywhere but not THAT bad.
Sadly I doubt that people that have taken horse paste to counteract their COVID infections will make those same acknowledgements.
Weird, Japanese eat high quality vitamins and proteins, which leads to powerful immunitary system, how can a simple bacterium be this powerful?
There is more to having a good immune system than “don’t be malnourished”
japanese people don’t even wash their hands after leaving bathroom not to mention their nonexistant genital grooming which hoards months worth of bactricial breeding grounds
