Shigella Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Shigella Blog

The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District is investigating an increasing level of Shigellosis cases in McLennan County this year.

Shigellosis is a disease caused by bacteria called Shigella and those infected may experience diarrhea, fever, vomiting and stomach cramps.

There have been 77 cases reported to the health district in the last six months, compared to only three cases in 2009.

The majority of cases are children under 5-years-old.

Anyone who may have been exposed to the bacteria or may have Shigellosis is urged to contact their doctor. Antibiotics are usually prescribed for treatment.

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The Allegheny County Health Department is taking special measures to slow an outbreak of diarrheal illness known as shigellosis. Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole says shigella infections began to increase countywide last October and there have been 97 cases reported so far this year. That compares to 41 in 2009 and only 12 in 2008. Other parts of the state including neighboring counties are also experiencing shigella outbreaks. Cole says nearly half of the local cases were children 5 or younger.

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According to various press reports, State health official say three children were hospitalized in western Kentucky in an unusually large outbreak of a bacterial infection that causes watery diarrhea and spreads easily.  Janie Cambron, regional epidemiologist for the Green River District Health Department, said Wednesday the children have since been released after contracting shigella, a bacterial infection spread through just a tiny amount of infected fecal matter.

Cambron says there were 80 reported cases of the disease as of Friday in Daviess County, and three in adjacent Ohio County.  Dr. William Hacker, commissioner of the state public health department, says shigella is common and usually affects children. He says some years in Kentucky, as few as 50 or many as 500 cases are seen sporadically.

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Health officials in Ohio County are reporting three confirmed cases of Shigella.  Daviess County is already dealing with 64 confirmed cases.

Health officials tell NEWS 25 there are no new cases in Daviess County, but this is the first news of the bacteria spreading around the Tri-State.  Shigella is contracted by contaminated food or water, or through human contact. Common symptoms are diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and cramps.  Washing and sanitizing your hands can prevent the spread of germs.

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There are now 15 confirmed cases of Shigella in Daviess County, Kentucky. Health department officials are asking people to exercise good hand hygiene at the BBQ Festival this weekend. Shigella is an intestinal infection caused by bacteria. It is usually self-limiting in most individuals but can also be very serious. Three steps you can take to help prevent the illness is to wash your hands frequently with soap and water, stay home if you're sick and disinfect surfaces. Certain high-risk groups such as the very young can be especially prone to developing complications.

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Alan Bavley of the The Kansas City Star reports on the growing outbreak of shigella in the greater Kansas City area:

The Kansas City area is going through an outbreak of a nasty and very contagious diarrheal disease called shigellosis, and scrupulous hand hygiene is the best way to keep from getting or spreading it.  More than 285 cases have been reported in the metropolitan area so far this year. The area typically averages just 10 to 15 a year. “Some people don’t wash their hands quite as well as they should,” said Jeff Hershberger of the Kansas City Health Department. “We want people to be really careful. It takes so few of the bacteria to infect someone.” As few as 10 shigella bacteria can make someone ill. So far, the outbreak has been centered in Kansas City, which has had 185 cases this year. Most people who get shigellosis suffer diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps that can last as long as a week. In mild cases, recovery is usually compete, although it may take months to feel completely normal. People with impaired immune systems may develop complications. For serious cases, doctors may prescribe antibiotics.

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The DuPage County Health Department is investigating the cause of food-related illnesses traced to a Subway restaurant in Lombard.

A cluster of gastrointestinal illnesses has been traced primarily to customers of the sandwich shop at 1009 E. Roosevelt Road in Lombard, according to a health department news release. The restaurant has been closed and its owners, along with corporate representatives, have been helping in the investigation.

Although the investigation is still underway, preliminary information shows the outbreak of illness is shigellosis, from a group of bacteria called Shigella, officials said. The illness can lead to diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps one to two days after being exposed.

As of today, eight cases have been confirmed. Four people had to be hospitalized, although one of them has been discharged and is recovering at home.

The bacterium can be acquired from eating contaminated food, and also can be spread from contact of contaminated human waste. Anyone with the illness should not prepare food for others, and anyone contacting an infected person should follow careful hygiene habits, officials said.

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Risk Factors for Sporadic Shigellosis, FoodNet 2005

Clinton C. Haley, Kanyin L. Ong, Katrina Hedberg, Paul R. Cieslak, Elaine Scallan, Ruthanne Marcus, Sanghyuk Shin, Alicia Cronquist, Jennifer Gillespie, Timothy F. Jones, Beletshachew Shiferaw, Candace Fuller, Karen Edge, Shelley M. Zansky, Patricia A. Ryan, Robert M. Hoekstra, Eric Mintz.

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease Abstract

Background: An estimated 450,000 cases of shigellosis occur annually in the United States. Outbreaks have been associated with food, water, child daycare centers, and men who have sex with men. However, for sporadic infections, which account for the majority of cases, risk exposures are poorly characterized.

Methods: Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) conducts active, laboratory-based shigellosis surveillance in 10 US sites. We interviewed cases with illness onset during 2005 about exposures during the week before symptom onset using a standardized questionnaire. The proportion of patients who denied nonfood risks was used to estimate the burden attributable to foodborne transmission.

Results: Overall, 1494 cases were identified. The approximate incidence was 3.9/100,000, with the highest rates among children aged 1–4 years (16.4) and Hispanics (8.4). Of the 929 cases interviewed, 223 (24%) reported international travel in the week before symptom onset. Of the 626 nontraveling cases with complete risk factor information, 298 (48%) reported exposure to daycare or a household member with diarrhea; 99 (16%) reported drinking untreated water or recreational exposure to water; and 16 (3%) reported sexual contact with a person with diarrhea. Two hundred and fifty-nine (41%) denied all nonfood exposures examined.

Conclusions: Sporadic shigellosis is most common among young children and Hispanics. Common exposures include international travel and contact with ill persons or daycare. However, more than one-third of US shigellosis cases annually might be due to food consumed in the United States.

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St. Louis city health officials on Wednesday reported a sharp increase in cases of a highly contagious intestinal bacteria that is typically spread by children.  There have been 67 cases of shigellosis from July 1 through Monday, compared to nine cases for all of 2008, according to the St. Louis City Department of Health.

Health officials said four day care centers and one school clustered in south St. Louis city reported illnesses. Officials did not offer other specifics except to say that children ages 4 and younger are most commonly infected.

Shigellosis infection is marked by fever, stomach cramps and diarrhea that can be bloody.  Most infections resolve without treatment within a week. Some antibiotics may be effective in treating more severe cases, although health officials warned that specimens from the St. Louis cases were shown in labs to be resistant to two antibiotics, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and ampicillin.

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Thirty people have died in Papua New Guinea (PNG) from the severe form of dysentery called Shigella that has infected 700 others.

While PNG’s limited health system is dealing with Shigella, to the north in Wasu, 13 people have died amid the country's first outbreak of cholera and 200 others have contracted the water-borne disease.

PNG health officials are combating simultaneous outbreaks of the Flu, Shigella, and Cholera.

All totaled 120 people are dead and the diseases, mostly in the Morobe province on the country’s north coast, have infected thousands.

It is Papua New Guinea's first cholera outbreak and medics fear the situation will get much worse before it gets better.

Radio New Zealand is monitoring this medical emergency.

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