Japan, the alarm goes off for the “flesh-eating bacterium”: mortality rate of around 30%
The Japanese government has issued a warning about rising cases of a rare but serious type of bacterial infection: they have now surpassed more than half of last year's tally.
As reported by “Il Corriere della Sera”, concerns about the spread of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), often nicknamed “flesh-eating disease”, would have pushed North Korea to cancel a football match with Japan that was supposed to take place in Pyongyang.
This infection, in the most severe cases, can cause necrosis of the connective tissues that surround the muscles, and in 2023 it recorded a mortality rate of around 30% among infected individuals, an extremely worrying figure.
Symptoms
Tokyo authorities have urged the population to immediately consult a doctor in the presence of symptoms such as pain and swelling in the limbs or fever, typical of this infection.