Another Pandemic, Another Fear

After getting over the horrifying pandemic that took away pieces of people’s lives for 5 years, another illness has been found to awake a new pandemic.

STSS(Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome), 연쇄구균독성쇼크증후군 in Korean, is a serious bacterial infection that can develop at extreme speeds in our bodies. Symptoms are extreme: low blood pressure, organ failure, and even death.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that STSS bacteria can get into the body through openings in the skin, like an injury or surgical wound, skin inside the nose and throat. This means, that people can get infected through not only operations but also through breathing, eating, and mere contact, akin to the previous pandemic.

The number of cases of STSS reported from January to February in Japan was 378. With a total of 941 cases reported over the past year, it is evident that the number of infections has increased very rapidly in the past few months. Therefore, to prevent another pandemic, societies, governments, non-governmental organizations, and the World Health Organization must dedicate themselves to vaccine development and dissemination of preventive measures. Above all, it is imperative to establish pandemic response strategies and protocols to prepare more individuals for sudden pandemics.