County Issues Warning About Stomach Infection In Children At Daycares

Posted by Shigella Attorney on March 28, 2007
Day care centers and some schools in Hamilton County are being warned about a possible outbreak of a childhood stomach illness.

After seeing an unexpected early increase in shigella and shigellosis, the Hamilton County Health District decided to issue a warning letter.

It's now sending out warning notices to day care centers and some schools warning them about shigella or shigelliosis.

It's a bacterial illness that mainly causes diarrhea.

The health district said so far it has 25 shigella cases reported this year, with several of them coming from one day care center.

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Parents Warned Of Nasty Bacteria Making The Rounds

Posted by Shigella Attorney on March 15, 2007
The Broward County Health Department is warning parents, schools and daycare centers to take precautionary action to prevent the spread of Shigellosis. ??Shigellosis is a highly contagious form of diarrhea caused by Shigella bacteria. It can spread through person-to-person contact and may cause severe diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.??Parents of children or anyone with symptoms of Shigellosis should contact their health care provider for diagnosis and treatment. ??Careful attention to hand washing is the single most important measure to decrease the spread of the Shigella bacteria.??"We have noted a marked increase in the diagnosis of Shigellosis in Broward County over the past weeks," said Dr. John R. Livengood, Assistant Epidemiology Director at the Broward County Health Department. "We have a total of 52 reported cases so far this year, compared to 8 this same time last year."??Livengood said their main concern is that there have been 27 cases in children 5 to 9 years old and 13 cases in children 1 to 4 years old - ages where shigella bacteria can be easily spread.??Symptoms may last from 48 to 72 hours, frequently marked by fever, stomach cramps and bloody stools. School aged children, and children in daycare, should be kept at home until the symptoms have passed.

Shigella outbreak in Hamilton

Posted by Shigella Attorney on March 09, 2007
The City of Hamilton’s Public Health Services in Canada has received a report of Shigella infection in a food handler who worked in the Snack Bar at Denningers at 826 Queenston Rd, Stoney Creek from February 28th to March 5th.

Public Health Services is asking anyone who developed diarrhea after consuming foods purchased from the Snack Bar between February 28th and March 5th, to consult their health care provider and contact Hamilton Public Health Services at 905-546-2063.  Any left over foods purchased from the Snack Bar between February 28th and March 5th should not be eaten and should be disposed of or returned to the Stoney Creek store.

Symptoms usually appear one to three days after a person becomes infected, with a range of 12 hours to eight days.  Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.  The illness caused by Shigella usually resolves in four to seven days.  In some people, especially young children and the elderly, the diarrhea can be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized.