[Toxic shock syndrome complicating influenza].

In January 1999, an outbreak of type A(H3N2) influenza occurred in a psychiatric hospital. Among 273 inpatients, 59 male and 40 female patients, age between 24-84 year old, developed high fever(38 degrees C), joint pain, cough and nasal discharge, and eleven male and one female patients died. In that hospital, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA), with production of toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) and staphylococcal enterotoxin(SE) type C(SEC), were isolated from inpatients, medical stuffs and hospital environments. Under investigation, a 59-year-old male inpatient developed respiratory failure following influenza infection. The titer of serum TSST-1 antibody and SEC antibody of this patient was significantly elevated in his clinical course. It is highly suspected that influenza outbreak occurred among MRSA carriers and TSS was complicated with fatal cases.