United States: Statistics revealed that cases of fatal bacterial infections have recorded the highest levels of infection rates in Japan in recent years. While experts have looked for the cause, the results are yet to be forthcoming.
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By June 2, Japan’s Health Ministry put reported streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) at 977, and the Sydenham Group estimated it had the world’s highest fatality rate of up to 30 percent. Of those numbers, 77 people died from the infection between January and March, the last data recorded available, as CNN Health reported.
Japan is also currently experiencing another wave of infection that has already topped 941 preliminary infections, the record high level ever since 1999. The STSS claimed 97 lives in the year that ended in March, the second-highest annual death toll in the past six years, according to Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
More about STSS
STSS is an uncommon but nevertheless severe disease that occurs when bacteria penetrate deeper layers of the tissues as well as the bloodstream.
The patients first present with acute fever, myalgia, and vomiting; however, the outcomes can be rapid with hemodynamic compromise, acute renal failure, and acute lung injury, indicating that the body is in septic shock.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Even with treatment, STSS can be deadly. Out of 10 people with STSS, as many as three people will die from the infection,” as CNN Health reported.
Nearly all STSS cases are due to the group A streptococcus (GAS) bacteria, and this bacterium mostly causes fever and throat infections in children.
However, under certain conditions, strep A can be invasive when a bacterium forms a toxin; the toxin allows it to enter the bloodstream to cause severe diseases like toxic shock.
Strep A can also cause necrotizing fasciitis, also referred to as the ‘flesh-eating bacteria’, and the potential result may involve the loss of limbs. Although the odds of catching that disease are low, individuals who have it often will have other conditions that would compromise the body’s immune system, such as cancer or diabetes, as pointed out by the CDC.
Group A strep infections were substantially contained by Covid-19 pandemic mitigation strategies such as wearing masks or maintain some distance between each other but when those measure were lifted many countries witnessed a surge in their cases.
Group A Streptococcal is one of the life-threatening diseases declared by Five European countries to WHO in December 2022 : A spiked of invasive G.A.Streptococcus ; mainly targets children below 10 years. The CDC stated that it was allegedly looking into an uptick in the disease at the time as well.
Earlier in March, Japanese authorities expressed concerns about the increase in the STSS incidents.
Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases released a risk assessment that stated that the number of STSS cases caused by iGAS “has increased since July 2023, especially among those under 50 years of age.”
The CDC in its website explained that “However, experts don’t know how the bacteria got into the body for nearly half of people who get STSS,” as CNN Health reported.
As per the experts, the reason for this year’s surge in STSS in Japan has yet not been revealed.
Moreover, according to Professor Ken Kikuchi, of Tokyo Women’s Medical University siad that “We can boost immunity if we are constantly exposed to bacteria. But that mechanism was absent during the coronavirus pandemic,” and, “So, more people are now susceptible to infection, and that may be one reason for the sharp rise in cases.”