April 2005

Shigella is a genus of bacteria that can cause sudden and severe diarrhea (gastroenteritis) in humans. Shigella thrives in the human intestine and is commonly spread both through food and by person-to-person contact. A Japanese scientist Kiyoshi Shiga discovered these bacteria over 100 years ago. Shigellosis is the name of the disease that Shigella causes.…

Shigellosis is more severe than other forms of gastroenteritis. This is because when Shigella bacteria multiply in the human gut they invade cells and result in much tissue destruction.7 Also, many strains produce a toxin called “shiga toxin” which is very potent and destructive. Shiga toxin is very similar to the verotoxin of E. coli O157:H7.
Shigellosis usually resolves in 5 to 7 days, although it may be several months before a victim’s bowel habits are entirely normal. In some persons, especially young children, the elderly, and immune compromised persons, the diarrhea can be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. The hospitalization rate for shigellosis is estimated to be in excess of 50,000 per year in the United States.8 Complications of shigellosis include severe dehydration, seizures in small children, rectal bleeding, and invasion of the blood stream by the bacterium.Continue Reading What are the serious and long-term risks of Shigella infection?

The ultimate source of Shigella bacteria is the infected excrement of a previously infected individual. That infectious material is spread to new cases by person-to-person contact or via contaminated food or water. A new case of bacillary dysentery occurs after the organism is ingested.
Shigella bacteria are in a small group of germs (that also includes E. coli O157:H7 and Cryptosporidium) that can infect the gut after the ingestion of relatively few organisms. Volunteer experiments have demonstrated that shigellosis can occur after ingestion of fewer than 200 bacteria,1 a very small amount. This is why bacillary dysentery is the most communicable of the bacterial-induced diarrheas and that is most commonly transmitted by person-to person contact.Continue Reading Where does Shigella come from?

April 20, 2005
KidsHealth.org
Named after the Japanese scientist Shiga who discovered it in 1897, Shigella is a type of bacteria that infects the intestinal tract. Four different groups of Shigella can affect humans, with some causing a mild illness and others a more severe one.
About 18,000 cases of Shigella infection are diagnosed each year in the United States, but many more go unreported because they involve only mild symptoms and sometimes no symptoms at all. The infection is most common during the summer months. Shigella rarely infects infants younger than 6 months old, but it is common in children 2 to 4 years old, especially those in child care.
Signs and Symptoms
Shigella can cause a spectrum of illnesses. Some people with a mild case have only loose watery stools, and a few may not have any symptoms at all. Others go on to develop a more severe disease known as dysentery, with abdominal cramps, high fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which may contain mucus and blood. Some children with severe cases of Shigella infection may need to be hospitalized. The most common complication is dehydration (an abnormally low level of fluid in the body). Rarely, Shigella bacteria can affect other organs in the body aside from the digestive tract. This can lead to arthritis, skin rashes, kidney failure, or neurological problems such as seizures, stiff neck, headache, lethargy, confusion, and hallucinations.Continue Reading Shigella Infections

2005-04-16
A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed important declines in foodborne infections due to common bacterial pathogens in 2004.
For the first time, cases of E. coli O157 infections, one of the most severe foodborne diseases, are below the national Healthy People 2010 health goal. From 1996-2004, the incidence of E. coli O157 infections decreased 42 percent. Campylobacter infections decreased 31 percent, Cryptosporidium dropped 40 percent, and Yersinia decreased 45 percent.Continue Reading Foodborne Illnesses Continue Downward Trend: 2010 Health Goals For E. Coli 0157 Reached

Tuesday, March 22, 2005
By Bradley Flory
Staff Writer
An outbreak of shigellosis in Jackson County may have peaked and subsided.
Twenty-nine cases of the communicable disease were confirmed between late January and mid-March, but no new cases have been confirmed in more than 10 days, said Mary Ricciardello, clinical services manger at the Jackson County Health Department.
“We’re hoping this is the end, but you never know,” Ricciardello said. “There are probably always cases of shigellosis out there that go undiagnosed.”
The disease, caused by bacteria called shigella, usually makes people ill for five to seven days.
Typical symptoms are diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.Continue Reading Shigellosis appears to be subsiding