Dozens of newborn babies in Japan have suffered toxic shock syndrome, a new
study shows. The disease is caused by the superbug MRSA, which is spreading in
the US and Europe as well as Japan. Researchers now believe newborns worldwide
face a growing risk of toxic shock.
“I think it will be a significant problem in the future,” says Patrick
Schlievert, a microbiologist at the University of Minnesota who in 1981
discovered that some strains of MRSA cause toxic shock. “It’s been thought that
toxic shock syndrome was an illness of teenagers and adults, and neonates were
always excluded.”
In…
