American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Honors Pioneering Shigella Researcher, Dr. Philippe Sansonetti

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Shigella Attorney

The 2009 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) GlaxoSmithKline International ASM Member of the Year Award has been presented to pioneer Shigella researcher Philippe Sansonetti, M.D., director, Unité de Pathogénie Microbienne Moléculaire, Institut Pasteur, Paris.

This award recognizes a distinguished microbiologist who has exhibited exemplary leadership in the international microbiological community. It was presented during the recent 109th General Meeting of the ASM in Philadelphia.

Known as one of the founders of the field of cellular microbiology, Dr. Sansonetti received his M.D. from the University of Paris and did his postdoctoral work in the Department of Enteric Diseases at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C. This is where he began his work on Shigella pathogenesis, an area of science that has been dominated by Dr. Sansonetti and his lab for the past 20 years.

Dr. Sansonetti established his lab at the Institut Pasteur where he created the Unité de Pathogénie Microbienne Moléculaire. He has supervised 30 postdoctoral fellows and mentored 20 Ph.D. students. His teaching has been recognized with visiting professorships at Harvard Medical School, Rockefeller University, the University of Tennessee, the University of Texas, and Washington University.

In 2008, Sansonetti was named professor and chair of microbiology and infectious diseases at the Collège de France, which was founded in 1530 to "teach science in the making" to the general public. In 1998, he co-founded the journal, Cellular Microbiology, to address a growing new multidisciplinary field of research and continues to serve as the editor of this international, high impact journal.

Dr. Sansonetti's laboratory is credited with some of the most important contributions to our understanding of intracellular pathogens and seminal discoveries that established the importance of cytoplasmic sensing in surveillance of intracellular pathogens. This work has led to key outcomes resulting in the understanding of how innate immune responses are regulated in response to intracellular pathogens.

ASM claims to be the world's oldest and largest life science organization with more than 43,000 members worldwide. ASM's mission is to advance the microbiological sciences and promote the use of scientific knowledge for improved health and economic and environmental well-being.

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Cleveland Is Also Trying To Defeat Shigella, Especially At Its Day Care Centers

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Shigella Attorney

Over the weekend, the Cleveland Plain Dealer did a wrap-up on the ongoing Shigella outbreak in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

The newspaper reported that: “Infections from the shigella bacteria began soaring in 2007 and show no signs of slowing down. Cuyahoga County reported 218 cases last year, after averaging about 30 cases a year the prior five years. The county is on pace to top last year's numbers, while the Cleveland Department of Public Health this year has responded to five outbreaks at day-care centers through April.

"We've never seen these kind of numbers, at least not in the last six or seven years," said Cleveland Health Director Matt Carroll. "I don't think we have a lot of understanding as to why we're seeing it."

Much of the outbreak is focused on day care centers in the Greater Cleveland area.  "It can go right through a day care because it doesn't take much to get infected," said Dr. Blaise Congeni, director of pediatric infectious diseases at Akron Children's Hospital.

For more from the Plain Dealer, go here.

 

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Local Health Officials In KS, MO, GA, and TX Issue Warnings About Shigella

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Shigella Attorney

Communities combating shigella since last fall are counting on the end of the school year to break the back of the far-flung outbreaks.

In Macon County, GA, the local health department continues to encourage people to wash their hands and to stay away from home or school if they come down with diarrhea.  There were 31 cases of shigella in Macon County in April and 23 so far in May.

Up north in Sedgwick County, KS there have been 52 confirmed cases of Shigella this year, compared to only 20 cases in all of 2008.   Kansas’s health officials are stepping up their warnings to parents.

 In nearby Missouri, nearly a dozen people have come down with Shigella this month, causing the Springfield-Greene County Health Department to issue a warning.

And down in the Texas panhandle, Lubbock is looking for the end of its eight-month Shigella outbreak.  The infection rate for the diarrheal illness peaked last fall with 308 reported cases in November, according to department records. Anything more than eight cases per month is considered an outbreak, Lubbock Public Health Coordinator Beckie Brawley said.

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There's A "Shigella Scare" In Springfield & Green County, Missouri; But Few Facts About It

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Shigella Attorney

Missouri's Springfield-Greene County Health Department put this statement on their website yesterday:

Hand washing protects you from a number of different illnesses, including colds, viruses and diarrheal illnesses like shigellosis. Greene County has seen an increase in shigellosis cases in the past month. Shigellosis is caused by the Shigella bacteria and is spread easily from person-to-person by dirty hands. The best way to stop this cycle and slow the spread of shigellosis in our community is for each of us to wash our hands frequently -- after using the bathroom, after changing a diaper and before eating or drinking.

Without saying, or apparently anybody asking, how many cases, the Health Department managed to get good coverage of its warning.   See this KY3 News story, for example.  Under a "Shigella Scare" headline, the warning was enough to get Greene County Health Department Director Kendra Williams on camera without giving up much in the way of facts.

From the comments on the KY3 website, however, it appears that Greene County may have a shigella problem in its dare care facilities.  Any reporter there want to take this a bit further please?

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World Health Organization Calls Shigella "Endemic Throughout The World"

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Shigella Attorney

 

The World Health Organization says Shigellosis is endemic throughout the world.

Worldwide there are approximately 164.7 million cases, of which 163.2 million in developing countries and 1.5 million in industrialized countries.

Each year 1.1 million people are estimated to die from Shigella infection and 580, 000 cases of shigellosis are reported among travellers from industrialized countries.

A total of 69 percent of all episodes and 61 percent of all deaths attributable to shigellosis involve children less than 5 years of age. 

See what else WHO has on Shigella here.

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Shigella Has Moved Into Macon County, IL And Isn't Leaving Very Fast

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Shigella Attorney

Decatur, IL and surrounding Macon County appears to be another hotspot for Shigella.   Macon County Health officials are reporting 68 cases of Shigella since last November, with 19 cases through the first half of April.

 In his blog, Paul Osborne, editor of the Decatur Tribune, reports that statewide there are about 1,300 cases of Shigella each year, but he adds this important note:

Because some mild cases go unreported, it is expected that at least 20 times more people are actually infected with the bacterium. Laboratory tests can be done to diagnose Shigella and in some cases, antibiotics can be used to treat the condition.

For Editor Osborne's complete discussion about Shigella in his community, go here.

We agree with his conclusion: "This is certainly something we don't want spreading in our community."

 

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Lubbock 2008 Shigella Outbreak Is Not Really Over Even Yet

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Shigella Attorney

 Believe it or not, a bunch of us passed through Lubbock, Texas yesterday on the way to its neighbor to the north, the town of Plainview, Texas.   An item in the local newspaper caught our attention.

It seems that the great Buddy Holly's hometown is still working its way out of a September 2008 outbreak of Shigella.   With almost one-third of the year gone, Lubbock has experienced 148 confirmed cases of shigella so far in 2009. That may indicate some improvement over 2008 when a total of 714 cases were reported.

The City of Lubbock's Health Department says it continues to investigate and monitor shigella in the community.  "So far this year we've seen 174 cases of enteric diseases in Lubbock," Beckie Brawley, Lubbock Health Department public health coordinator said. "Enteric diseases can be caused by a number of factors like contaminated water, contaminated food or coming into contact with infected animals and usually causes diarrhea or vomiting."

For more on how the battle against Shigella is going in Lubbock, check this out.

 

 

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Shigella So Common It Makes Top Three Among Food-borne Illnesses

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Shigella Attorney

Shigella was the third most common food-borne illness in the United States during 2008, according to the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) of CDC's Emerging Infections Program, which collects data from 10 U.S. states.

The number of infections and incidence per 100,000 population were reported as follows:

  • Salmonella (7,444; 16.20),
  • Campylobacter (5,825; 12.68),
  • Shigella (3,029; 6.59),
  • Cryptosporidium (1,036; 2.25),
  • STEC O157 (513; 1.12),
  • STEC non-O157 (205; 0.45),
  • Yersinia (164; 0.36),
  • Listeria (135; 0.29),
  • Vibrio (131; 0.29),
  • and Cyclospora (17; 0.04).

See the chart below for details. Go here for details on the study.

TABLE 1. Incidence* of laboratory-confirmed bacterial and parasitic infection in 2008† and postdiarrheal hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in 2007, by site and pathogen, compared with national health objectives§ — Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, United States Pathogen California Colorado Connecticut Georgia Maryland Minnesota New Mexico New York Oregon Tennessee Overall 2008 National health objective§ Bacteria Campylobacter 30.23 14.36 15.13 7.15 6.66 16.97 17.97 11.20 18.20 7.68 12.68 12.30 Listeria 0.65 0.15 0.46 0.27 0.30 0.13 0.25 0.45 0.16 0.23 0.29 0.24 Salmonella 14.62 12.48 14.10 23.97 15.02 14.53 26.40 10.15 10.59 14.63 16.20 6.80 Shigella 4.83 3.15 1.14 11.51 2.05 5.96 8.02 0.77 1.97 15.56 6.59 —¶ STEC** O157 1.14 3.04 0.74 0.44 0.59 2.27 0.81 1.20 1.49 0.84 1.12 1.00 STEC non-O157 0.06 0.89 0.49 0.26 0.55 0.98 1.47 0.40 0.13 0.06 0.45 — Vibrio 0.65 0.15 0.40 0.20 0.59 0.15 0.10 0.19 0.32 0.16 0.29 — Yersinia 0.34 0.26 0.43 0.47 0.23 0.33 0.15 0.45 0.40 0.31 0.36 — Parasites Cryptosporidium 1.32 1.00 1.17 2.66 0.94 4.50 8.83 2.65 1.44 0.70 2.25 — Cyclospora 0.00 0.00 0.11 0.02 0.05 0.06 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.04 — HUS†† 2.43 0.98 0.47 1.08 0.27 2.83 — 1.31 2.54 3.91 1.75 0.90 Surveillance population (millions) 3.25 2.70 3.50 9.54 5.62 5.20 1.97 4.27 3.75 6.16 45.95 * Per 100,000 population. † Data for 2008 are preliminary. § Current Healthy People 2010 objective 10-1 targets for incidence of Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157, and Listeria infections, and HUS. ¶ No national health objective exists for these pathogens. ** Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. †† Incidence of postdiarrheal HUS in children aged <5 years; denominator is surveillance population aged <5 years in sites that conduct hospital discharge data review (New Mexico excluded).

 

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Shigella Outbreak Grows At UpState New York Applebee's

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Shigella Lawyer

Here's an update on the Shigella outbreak involving the Applebee's restaurant in Camillus, NY near Syracuse:

Bar lemons and limes used in both food and drinks are getting most of the focus of the investigation by health officials.

After the Onondaga County Health Department confirmed seven cases of Shigellosis from Applebee customers who dined there in early March, they warned the public and asked others to come forward if they got sick.

More than 100 people responded, reporting illness. Health officials have sent another 52 off for tests. Results are expected in a few days.

Shigellosis is a bacterial infection associated with consuming water or food contaminated with fecal matter. The source of the bacteria in the Applebee's citrus has not been identified.

 

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Shigella Confirmed in Seven Applebee Customers In Upstate New York

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Shigella Attorney

Seven confirmed cases of Shigella have caused  the Onondaga County Health Department in Syracuse, NY to warn up to 9,000 Applebee customers that they too might have been exposed to the bacteria.   The restaurant involved is located in Camillus, NY, about 11 miles east of Syracuse. WSYR-TV reports that:

 

County Health Commissioner Dr. Cynthia Morrow says all seven people had contracted Shigellosis. The Shigella bacteria, Morrow says, is associated with consuming water or food contaminated with fecal matter.

Those who are confirmed ill ate at the restaurant on either Saturday, March 7th or Sunday, March 8th, but the overall window that the Health Department is looking at is between Sunday, March 1st and Friday, March 20th.

The station said the health department waited until Tuesday to announce the illnesses because it had sent stool samples to the lab, and had just gotten the results back.  The Applebee's remains open.  Employees are being tested.

For more on the outbreak, go here.

 

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