 In general, the toxin is not produced by bacteria growing in the blood; rather, it is produced at the local site of an infection, and then enters the blood stream.Toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1), a prototype superantigen secreted by a "Staphylococcus aureus" bacterium strain in susceptible hosts, acts on the vascular system by causing inflammation, fever, and shock.This bacterium strain that produces the TSST-1's can be found in any area of the body, but live mostly in the vagina of infected women.