If not treated promptly, it can lead to soft tissue damage, respiratory failure, liver failure, kidney failure, and multi-organ failure, with a mortality rate exceeding 30 per cent.
The spread of the disease, or “flesh-eating bacteria infection” due to its severity, has been notably faster this year. By June 2, a record total of 977 cases had already been reported, surpassing the entire count of 941 cases for the whole of last year.
The weekly report on infectious disease trends from the NIID, covering the period from June 3 to 9, indicated that Tokyo has the highest number of confirmed cases this year with 150, followed by prefectures of Aichi and Saitama with 69 and 68 cases, respectively.