A disease caused by a rare “flesh-eating bacteria” that can kill people within 48 hours is spreading in Japan after the country relaxed Covid-era restrictions.
  • deranger@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    762·
    5 months ago

    Calling strep pyogenes “flesh eating bacteria” is fear mongering. This is the strep throat bacteria. Not good to have by any means, but you’re not getting necrotizing fasciitis just because you come into contact with S. pyogenes.

    • Daxtron2@startrek.websiteEnglish
      14·
      5 months ago

      S. Pyogenes can objectively cause nec fasc and toxic shock syndrome, both of which are life threatening. 20-30% of NEC fasc is Type 2 which is primarily S. Pyogenes or Staph.

      S.Pyogenes is also one of the main bacteria that cause type 1 nec fasc which is around 70% of cases.

      Calling it ‘just strep throat bacteria’ is inaccurate.

      • deranger@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        10·
        5 months ago

        Necrotizing fasciitis isn’t what’s occurring in Japan. Those points you make are not wrong but they’re not applicable to what’s happening. Referring to what’s happening there as an outbreak of “flesh eating bacteria” is incorrect. That’s not the disease that’s occurring. If they were trying to be accurate rather than sensational, they’d say its a bacteria that causes toxic shock syndrome. It’s also literally due to more sore throat cases: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-warns-surge-potentially-deadly-strep-throat-cases-2024-03-26/

        Across the country, infections of streptococcus bacteria of the throat are being diagnosed at quadruple the pace of the past five years, according to a health ministry report earlier this month.

        Through March 10, Japan recorded 474 cases of the more serious streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (SSTS), which has a fatality rate of up to 30%. This syndrome happens when the infection spreads throughout the body, potentially causing organ failure.

  • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5913·
    5 months ago

    I remember not that long ago hearing about a spread of a new disease spreading across a nation. I said "Ah, it’s fine. It’ll be contained, and nobody will even remember it…

    8 months later the world was shut down.

        • ripcord@lemmy.worldEnglish
          113·
          5 months ago

          They may also not survive as well.

          Ia there evidence they will thrive more at higher temperatures? Or are we just trying to find things to be negative about?

          • treefrog@lemm.eeEnglish
            31·
            5 months ago

            Yes, actually. This specific bacteria thrives at 95f when cultured in labs.

            It’s a bacteria that is able to live inside humans, after all.

            Microbes also evolve faster than humans. Meaning they’ll adapt to higher temperatures faster than our body temperature will. Making humans more susceptible to bacteria like this one, as climate change continues.

      • rayyy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        71·
        5 months ago

        What is new is that the bacteria is becoming more predominate.

  • siperjff@lemmy.worldEnglish
    292·
    5 months ago

    The “good” thing about it killing rapidly is there is less chance of it spreading. So I would not expect another global pandemic from it.

    Although the bad thing is still that if you do get it, your chances of survival aren’t good…

    • Zron@lemmy.worldEnglish
      126·
      5 months ago

      God, I hope it doesn’t spread, because then people will keep saying global pandemic.

      Pandemic already means global.

      It’s like saying Mariachi Band, or ATM Machine.

      • bruce965@lemmy.mlEnglish
        11·
        5 months ago

        For what it’s worth, I always prefer being redundant if it makes the meaning clearer to a non-native speaker audience.

        For instance I didn’t know “pandemic” implicitly meant “global”. In my ignorance I thought you could have a localized pandemic. But by saying “global pandemic” it makes it more obvious to everyone, including those who, like me, didn’t know.

        Also I’ll personally keep saying “my phone had an LCD display” because it feels smoother than “my phone has a LCD”.

        • corsicanguppy@lemmy.caEnglish
          2·
          5 months ago

          This is an important hint around all the jargon that anglos grew up repeating; and I only sometimes realize how deeply it pervades our speech.

          “So I had to hit the ATM for a PATH ticket to get to SoHo and venmo a new LCD for my s20 instead of hopping the turnstile but I found some susy-Bs in my 505s so I was mint” could make perfect sense to an anglo (living in Jersey City) but to an Icelander there’s not much context to help dereference all the jargon.

          Saying “‘ATM’ machine”, with the jargon explained a bit, could definitely help. I gotta be less of a pedantic dick.

        • DinosaurSr@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          5 months ago

          Even for native speakers! If I told my parents to get a new LCD they’d think I was telling them to buy drugs.

      • explore_broaden@midwest.socialEnglish
        1·
        5 months ago

        (of a disease) existing in almost all of an area or in almost all of a group of people, animals, or plants

        “An area” could be a country, a Canadian pandemic is possible just as a global pandemic is.