Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome in an adult and a child.

Two patients had staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS) with typical clinical and histopathologic findings. In both cases, the disease was reproduced by injections of staphylococci into mice. The adult patient, who had no other physical or laboratory abnormalities, showed intact humoral and cellular immunity; her uneventful clinical course was clearly different from the eight previously reported cases in adults. To our knowledge, the child represents the first case report of SSSS as a result of infection by a non-group 2 Staphylococcus.