A 30% MORTALITY RATE WITHIN 48 HOURS IS NO JOKE: Japan sees record spike in infections caused by tissue-damaging bacteria.

“Most of the deaths happen within 48 hours,” Kikuchi added. “As soon as a patient notices swelling in their foot in the morning, it can expand to the knee by noon and they can die within 48 hours.”

STSS symptoms start as a fever, muscle pain and vomiting, but as the bacterial infection spreads into deep tissues and the bloodstream the symptoms can become life-threatening with swelling, low blood pressure and organ failure.

Since I don’t have a spleen, I’m more vulnerable to this. I keep a brutally strong antibiotic (Levaquin) on hand, and I’m supposed to gulp it and head to the ER at the first sign of symptoms.