A rare but dangerous bacterial infection is spreading at a record pace in Japan, and authorities are scrambling to identify the cause. Preliminary data released by the NIID included 941 cases of STSS (streptococcal toxic shock syndrome) last year. And in 2024, the government expects that number to rise and record a new death toll. There have already been 378 cases in the first two months of the year, with infections identified in all but two of Japan’s 47 prefectures, the Guardian reports. The infection affects a third of people diagnosed with STSS and mainly affects people between 30 and 50 years of age.
A killer bacteria is terrorizing Japan
A sneeze of a carrier of the bacteria or contact with an open wound is enough to become infected.
When it enters the bloodstream or cerebrospinal fluid, it seeps into organs and causes multiple organ failure and muscle tissue necrosis, according to Japan’s health ministry. This disintegration of muscles makes this pathogen known as a “carnivore”.
It may arrive in Europe
As with Covid, the fact that it is exploding in Japan cannot leave us alone on this side of the globe. “Can he get to Europe? Since it is an infectious agent, the chance of spreading is high,” Patricia Guillem, professor of epidemiology, public health and preventive medicine at the European University, told Ideal.es. According to the WHO, the numbers are increasing from 2022, and countries such as France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom have seen an increase in cases of invasive disease caused by this type of strep (group A).
Last updated: Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 12:23 p.m
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