17 Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS)
17.1 Epidemiologic Review
17.1.1 Disease Information
Overview: Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) is a serious complication from a Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection.
Symptoms: Common symptoms include fever, diarrhea, muscle aches, hypotension (low bood pressure), and multi-system organ involvement.
Transmission: Group A Streptococcus is transferred person-to-person through respiratory droplets and direct contact with infected secretions. STSS itself is not communicable person to person but the organism that causes it (GAS) is.
Treatment: Treatment includes antibiotics, supportive care and severe infections may require surgical debridement (removal of dead or nonviable tissue from a wound to facilitate healing).
Prevention There are no specific prevention recommendations for STSS. Practicing good hygiene habits like washing your hands often can help avoid spreading infections. It is also important that people using needles to inject themselves are always using new, clean needles and not reusing or sharing needles.
17.1.2 Demographics
Rates for <1, 1-4, 5-17, and 18-29 years of age are not displayed due to low case counts.
Racial and Ethnicity demographic data are not presented due to low counts.
17.1.4 Monthly and Historical Comparisons
Data for Utah and the CDC were retrieved from the CDC’s Notifiable Infectious Disease Data Tables.