As of: March 19, 2024, 4:57 a.m
By: Karolin Schaefer
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The numbers of a rare but deadly infection in Japan are rising alarmingly.
“Many unknown factors” make it difficult to find the cause.
Tokyo – Ulcerated tonsils, rash or swelling: These are all symptoms of a streptococcal infection.
The bacteria often attack the mucous membranes and can cause various diseases.
They are currently spreading in record time, especially in Japan.
Just at the beginning of last year, several European countries reported an increase in severe streptococcal diseases in children.
Deadly streptococcal disease is spreading rapidly in Japan
In Japan, highly infectious strains of A streptococci have been repeatedly detected - one of over 120 streptococcal species.
More than 400 streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) infections were detected in Japan in 2024 alone,
The Guardian
reported .
This is a rare but potentially fatal infection caused by A streptococci.
The disease causes a sudden, severe feeling of illness.
Older people and menstruating women who have already had contact with the bacteria and use tampons, menstrual cups or diaphragms, among other things, are particularly affected, according to the medical manual MSD Manuals.
These symptoms can occur with STSS:
High fever
Drop in blood pressure
Rashes
Diarrhea
Vomit
lethargy
Shortness of breath
Increase in streptococcal infections in Japan: health authorities are puzzled
Tissue necrosis can form within 48 hours and multiorgan failure can lead to death.
Around 30 percent of infections are fatal.
In the USA, a woman had to have her lower legs and forearms amputated after a streptococcal infection.
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It is not completely clear why the bacterial infection is currently spreading so widely in Japan.
“There are still many unknown factors regarding the mechanisms behind severe and sudden forms of streptococcal infections and we are not yet at the stage where we can explain them,” The
Guardian
quoted the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) as saying.
Streptococci are spherical bacteria that are often arranged in chains.
© Science Photo Library/imago
Streptococci are transmitted through a droplet or smear infection.
A STSS infection is usually treated in intensive care.
The number of cases this year is expected to surpass last year's record numbers, the Japanese newspaper
Asahi Shimbun
reported .
In 2023, 941 cases of STSS were reported.
In the first two months of this year alone, 378 cases have been confirmed almost across the country.
“Very concerned”: Japan recommends compliance with hygiene measures
Ken Kikuchi, a professor of infectious diseases at Tokyo Women's Medical University, said he was "very concerned" about the rapid rise in numbers.
He has a hunch about the cause: With the lifting of the corona restrictions, the population gave up behaviors to avoid infections, such as regular hand disinfection, he described to
The Guardian
.
The Japanese Ministry of Health currently recommends taking the same hygiene measures that applied during the pandemic.
“We want people to take preventive measures such as keeping their fingers and hands clean and following cough rules,” Health Minister Keizo Takemi told The
Japan Times
earlier this year.
Recently, the number of respiratory diseases in China has increased alarmingly.