Toxic Shock Syndrome

Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), rare disease associated with strains of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, a common inhabitant of the skin, oral cavity, and vagina. Under certain conditions the bacterium produces a toxin that apparently attacks the immune system through the bloodstream, in turn permitting more toxin to be produced. Liver function is also altered, resulting in liver and kidney damage. Symptoms of TSS include rash, high fever, lowered blood pressure, diarrhea, and vomiting. TSS has caused death in about 3 percent of reported cases. The disease can be treated with antibiotics.

The first identifiable case of TSS dates back many years, but the disease only drew great attention in the United States in the late 1970s, when an outbreak led to fears of an epidemic. A few thousand victims were eventually involved, about 80 percent of whom were menstruating women. Almost all of them were using superabsorbent tampons, which apparently provided a more oxygen-rich atmosphere in which vaginal bacteria could readily produce their toxin. When women began to use such tampons only intermittently or not at all, the outbreak subsided.