Word: aureus
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...caused by a toxin-producing strain of the common bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, carried benignly in the respiratory and genital tracts of perhaps one out of three people. Under certain conditions -- a wound, some infections, the presence of a tampon or contraceptive sponge -- the bacteria multiply. If the toxin-producing strain is present, such proliferation can lead to TSS. The symptoms are dramatic and develop quickly: high fever, a sunburn-like rash, severe vomiting and diarrhea, culminating in shock, in which blood pressure plummets and circulation deteriorates. Doctors usually try to head off this life-threatening condition by administering intravenous fluids...
MacDonald speculates that the influenza virus can injure the throat or lungs in a way that favors the growth of S. aureus. Though the complication appears to be rare, it is urgent that doctors be aware of it, says TSS Expert Bruce Dan, in an editorial that accompanied MacDonald's paper. Early recognition and treatment of the syndrome "is the most important factor in being able to prevent fatalities," says Dan. "It behooves all physicians to be on the lookout for any influenza patient whose condition suddenly worsens...
Researchers have known for several years that TSS is caused by a toxin produced by a common and usually harmless bacterium called Staphylococcus aureus. In laboratory studies, the Harvard team, led by Infectious Disease Specialist Edward Kass, found that the bacterium produces up to 20 times as much toxin as usual in the presence of certain tampon fibers. Kass's group discovered that the fibers -- polyester foam and polyacrylate rayon -- soak up large amounts of magnesium, which is normally present in vaginal tissue and fluid. When the magnesium is removed from the bacterium's environment, the bug responds by churning...
...diphtheria microbe produces excessive amounts of toxin. "You comb your mind for something you can get a hold on," he says, and the diphtheria-iron connection "leaped right out." Through a trial-and- error process, Kass and his team found that magnesium played a parallel role with Staph. aureus...
Though TSS is widely feared, relatively few people are vulnerable. Doctors estimate that by age 20, 95% of the U.S. population have been exposed to Staph. aureus toxin and have developed immunity. Of the remaining 5%, some may be genetically incapable of developing immunity. These women and men may actually suffer more than one bout of TSS, which can be treated with antibiotics...