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Most Women Have Antibodies To Toxic Shock Bacteria

© Gretchen Malik

The majority of women in the US and Canada have protective levels of antibodies to the bacteria that cause toxic shock syndrome.

A study shows that most healthy women have antibodies to the toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 protein, and researchers suggest that colonization with a toxin-1-producing Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strain renders these women immune to getting the disease.

Toxic shock syndrome is a potentially life-threatening disease caused by toxin produced by a strain of S. aureus bacteria. It's most common in menstruating women using high-absorbency tampons. Symptoms of the syndrome include sudden high fever, headache, a rash, nausea and diarrhea.

It was noted that blacks were significantly less likely to have protective antibodies than whites, and that women in Manitoba were significantly more likely than all other states except Arizona to have protective antibodies.

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