the strain causing toxic shock syndrome. These strains produce milder diseases. Yet, some strains are more potent. Almost all Streptococcus pyogenes are potentially dangerous because of the many traits used for invading the body. The body more easily combats some strains because they are less able to disarm or destroy the host’s immune system. This difference creates conditions in which the damage is restricted to particular regions of the body. Scalded-skin syndrome (Figure 6.3) is a condition related to staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome. The disease shows the same type of skin damage as toxic shock syndrome. However, it does not spread throughout the body and therefore does not produce a serious fever, kidney damage, or shock. It is most common in babies and children. Few adults show the disease. Most adults who have the disease have a weakened immune system. More mild than scalded-skin syndrome is a condition commonly called “dishpan hands.” It is common among people who wash their hands frequently at home or on the job. Continuous handwashing with soap reduces the growth of helpful bacteria, leaving room for Staphylococcus aureus to gain control of the skin. Secretions produced by the bacteria irritate the skin, causing reddening and cracking. Certain strains of Staphylococcus aureus also cause a skin condition called boils. Boils are pus-filled skin lesions. Staphylococcus aureus also causes blood vessel inflammation, ear infections, meningitis, and pneumonia. It also causes one type of staphylococcal food poisoning. It travels via food handling by people with large populations of Staphylococcus aureus on their hands. Streptococcus pyogenes produces several conditions called noninvasive streptococcal diseases. The strains causing these diseases lack some of the secretions needed to penetrate intact tissues. Certain strains of Streptococcus pyogenes growing in the throat can cause pharyngitis. Pharyngitis is an inflammation of the tonsils and voicebox. Physicians usually call this highly infectious disease “strep throat.” Streptococcus pyogenes produces approximately 25 percent of the pharyngitis cases. Scarlet fever is a disease that gained notoriety in nineteenthcentury England, when it spread rapidly and killed many people. This Streptococcus pyogenes disease usually starts out as pharyngitis, which then progresses to a rash. Severe cases include swelling and damage to the mucous membranes of the respiratory system. Today, it is an uncommon disease that rarely kills people. Mild strains of Streptococcus pyogenes produce skin infections such as erysipelas and impetigo. These infectious diseases produce differing degrees of skin rashes. Some of the rashes go deep into the skin and cause swelling of underlying tissues. Invasive Staphylococcus aureus diseases affect areas underlying the mucous membranes and skin. Streptococcal myositis is an inflammation of the muscle tissues near the surface of the body. Scientists believe that the bacteria invade the muscles by entering the body through a throat infection. Sometimes people acquire it through wounds that involve muscle damage. Necrotizing fasciitis is a horrible condition in which Staphylococcus aureus freely travels through the tissue underlying the skin. Staphylococcus aureus enters this tissue, the fascia, through a wound and rapidly eats away the skin. A sudden increase of cases in the 1990s created a media frenzy. The disease became known as a flesh-eating bacterial infection. Staphylococcus aureus can also make its way to the blood, causing a serious condition called bacteremia. The disease kills 40 percent of the people who develop it, and those who do live usually end up with heart damage. Staphylococcus aureus is associated with other diseases affecting the joints, kidneys, mouth, and nervous system.
Figure 6.3 Scalded skin syndrome is a severe form of toxic shock syndrome, a result of the Staphylococcal form of the disease. The person shown in this picture is suffering from this symptom of the disease, which is most common in babies and children. Note the burned or scalded appearance of the skin.
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