County health officials said lab tests have confirmed the infection, known as shigella, has infected 24 people since January. In all of 2011, there were 11 lab-confirmed cases in St. Lucie.

"The Academy's health professional saw a handful of cases," Rabbi Simcha Dessler, dean of Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, said Jan. 23. "As with any health-related issues, we immediately contacted the Cuyahoga County Department of Health and continued to follow their lead. A letter and fact sheet with comprehensive information and prevention strategies were sent out to the parent body."

Amy Anter, program manager in epidemiology at the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, said the board had been in touch with Mendel Singer, Ph.D., associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, director of Jewish Community Health Initiative, and CJN blogger, to help convey information about the illness.

"Shigella does pop up in the Orthodox community from time to time," Singer said. "When there are lots of kids in diapers and not fully toilet-trained, there are opportunities for the illness to spread. It's extremely contagious, and it takes very little of it to cause infection.

"Hand washing with warm water and soap is the best defense," Singer said. Within the Orthodox community, soap (that requires lathering) and pre-moistened wipes (that often require tearing) become an issue on Shabbat. He recommends liquid soap as a substitute for bar soap and advises keeping soap available where ritual hand washing is taking place. If pre-moistened wipes aren't used when diaper changing, cleaning with "Shabbat-friendly" wipes is needed, he said.

In the last few months health officials say they've noticed the increase in Shigellosis.

A letter went out to all schools on Wednesday from the health department and will soon alert parents of the outbreak in Louisville.

On November 30th, a notice from Louisville Metro Public Health & Wellness said the health department had received reports of Shigellosis, a diarrhea illness caused by Shigella bacteria, which is highly contagious.

"Unfortunately, this is something that is transmitted fecally orally. So, since kids aren't paying as much attention to hygiene sometimes, or parents who are taking care of kids who have a diarrhea illness, that can be a challenge," says Dr. Paul Schulz, Medical Director of Infection Prevention with Norton Healthcare.

Fast-forward to this week and now a JCPS spokesperson says the health department has asked all schools to send out a notice to students about an outbreak of Shigellosis in Jefferson County.

JCPS spokesperson, Lauren Roberts, says they are sending the letters out because they've been asked to, and not as a result of any particular case in the school.

The health department has averaged 62 cases a year of the illnesses for the last five years.

However, in the last 3 months, they say they've already seen 60 cases.

"Technically we would call this an epidemic and try to do things to reduce that spread, like putting out these kinds of notices so that parents, teachers and other folks in the community are more aware," says Dr. Paul Schulz.

The symptoms include blood in stools, fever, nausea, abdominal cramping and vomiting.

One of the ways they say you can prevent the spread of the disease is to wash your hands carefully, and often. They say it's especially important to wash your hands after changing diapers, using the restroom, after helping a child use the restroom, or before preparing or eating food.

Dr. Paul Schulz, with Norton Healthcare, also recommends not going to school or work if you have the illness to avoid spreading it to other people.

Going to the doctor is at the top of the list.

"Even if you don't feel like you're that ill, getting evaluated and diagnosed and treated can be a good thing for you and the community," says Dr. Paul Schulz.

There are antibiotics that doctors can prescribe to help you treat this illness.

The Health Department wants everyone to be aware, and take precautions.

Most Shigella infections are passed through the fecal-oral route. This happens when basic hygiene and handwashing habits are inadequate and can happen during certain types of sexual activity.  Shigella outbreaks are particularly likely to occur among toddlers who are not fully toilet-trained. Family members and playmates of such children are at high risk of becoming infected.

Shigella is the third most common pathogen transmitted through food. In FoodNet surveillance areas in 2008, the rate of Shigella food poisoning was 6.6 per 100,000 population, exceeded only by Salmonella (15.2/100,000) and Campylobacter (12.7/100,000) (CDC, 2009c).

Shigella is also responsible for a substantial portion of foodborne outbreaks on cruise ships. In a review of cruise ship outbreaks worldwide over several years, 16% of outbreaks were attributed to Shigella, affecting over 2,000 passengers (Rooney et al., 2004). Sanitation violations related to food handling and communicable disease have decreased substantially over the past 15 years (Cramer et al., 2008).

At least five students have tested positive for the intestinal bacteria, but the number of students who have it is likely much higher.

And it is not confined to schools, there has already been 260 possible cases in the community.

Now parents and students in Worth County are worried about being exposed to the bacteria.

The Shigella outbreak in Worth County has parents and students concerned about sanitary practices at school.

"Just keep them in the house away from other kids," says Eric Winstead, Concerned Parent.

"It is pretty scary for me since there is no cure for it, and it spreads really quickly, and it is really contagious so it scares me a lot," says Tori Smith, attends Worth County Elementary School.

"Both of my kids have pretty low immune systems, so I am always worried if they are going to come home and get it and spread it to anybody else, to us, my husband, to me," says Kyla Nelms, concerned parent.

Shigella is an intestinal bacteria, causing diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.

Shigella is a bacterium that can cause sudden and severe diarrhea (gastroenteritis) in humans. Shigellosis is the name of the disease that Shigella causes. The illness is also known as “bacillary dysentery.” A person can contract shigellosis by ingesting only a few organisms, which makes shigellosis the most communicable of the bacterial-induced diarrheas.

There have been more than 125 cases of Shigella reported in Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties since April. The norm is about 25 for an entire year.

Shigella and Crypto are bacterial illnesses that can be spread at public swimming pools or anywhere there are a lot of kids.

On Thursday, the health department eased those restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the illness.

There are still concerns that Shigella may continue to spread through child care centers, then to family members of young children.

The department says they’ve received 103 reports of Shigella in Boone, Campbell, Grant, and Kenton counties since April. There are typically only 25 or so cases in a year.

Shigella is a bacteria that infects the bowels, usually in children ages two to four. The Shigella bacteria causes an illness called Shigellosis. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps, nausea or vomiting.

The Northern Kentucky Health Department had placed restrictions on toddlers who are not potty trained from using the pools June 3 after a Shigella outbreak. About 300 public pools in the region were affected.

On Thursday, the health department eased those restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the illness.

There are still concerns that Shigella may continue to spread through child care centers, then to family members of young children.

The department says they’ve received 103 reports of Shigella in Boone, Campbell, Grant, and Kenton counties since April. There are typically only 25 or so cases in a year.

Shigella is a bacteria that infects the bowels, usually in children ages two to four. The Shigella bacteria causes an illness called Shigellosis. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps, nausea or vomiting.

The health department says it will protect the community from the highly contagious bacteria called Shigellosis, which can easily be spread, even in highly chlorinated pools.

"Even if your child is healthy, you don't know about other children or other toddlers who are not toilet trained who've been in that water," said Dr. Lynne Saddler, NKY District Director of Health.

Shigella is very common among children, and symptoms include diarrhea, fever, cramps and vomiting.

The move comes after an outbreak of Shigella. Shigella is a bacteria carried in fecal matter that, if ingested, can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

So far this year, there have been 78 reported cases of shigella in Orange County. Last year at this time, the county had four reported cases.

"This is one of those bacteria that causes what most people know as stomach flu, but it can be very serious," said Dain Weister, spokesman for the Orange County Health Department. "This can cause diarrhea, but also bloody diarrhea. It's worse than your mild case of gastrointestinal upset."

In addition to diarrhea, other shigellosis symptoms include fever, stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting. Most cases are mild, lasting several days to weeks, but severe complications such as dehydration can occur. The condition usually resolves in five to seven days, and rarely requires hospitalization.

Shigellosis is a potentially serious disease caused by the shigella bacteria. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. It is transmitted from person to person, hand-to-mouth contact and can be food borne if food is handled by an infected individual. (Read more about Shigellosis)

At this point school officials do not know how the bacteria entered the school, but they say there is no need for parents to worry.

Joplin Schools Superintendent C.J. Huff, PhD. says staff at Emerson are making every effort to sanitize and prevent the disease from spreading.

"We're trying to go above and beyond," Dr. Huff says. "Hand sanitizers in the classroom, things of that nature. Anything and everything we can think of to do to help control it, which is the biggest concern is just the spread of the illness, and trying to contain the spread of that illness so that it doesn't become more of an issue for other kids."

"We tend to avoid anti-diarrhea medications like Immodium or Lamodile because that can prolong a carrier state," says Dr. Jim Riscoe of St. John's Medical Center. "In patients that are very symptomatic, and that's usually the very young or the very old, can require oral antibiotic therapy."

The school board called parents Monday night to explain the condition. Symptoms of Shigella include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.

According to the message, New Hanover County schools and the New Hanover County Health Department are working together to control the spread of the condition.

They say the key to prevention of transmission is hand washing and good sanitation. To scrub away germs make sure your children wash their hands in warm water with soap for about 20 seconds, making sure to get in between the fingers and under the nails. Rinse and dry with a clean towel.

Shigella gastroenteritis is a contagious disease that affects the intestinal tract of humans causing diarrhea and other related symptoms such as high fever, abdominal cramps, and vomiting. Diarrhea may occur up to 8 to 10 times per day and may be mucus-like, bloody, or watery. Although this illness can infect people of all ages, it is seen primarily among children.

The illness usually starts within a few days after exposure to the bacteria as the incubation period ranges from one to seven days, with an average of three days. Once a person is infected with the illness, it can easily be spread from person to person by direct or indirect contact with fecal material.

“Symptoms of the illness usually resolve within a week”, states Dr. Rahul Gupta, Health Officer, “but our concern is that the bacteria can shed in the stool from days to several weeks after a person gets well.” Appropriate antibiotic treatment of Shigella gastroenteritis reduces the duration of fever, diarrhea, and fecal shedding. This decreased shedding may help in reducing the risk of person-to-person spread of the infection in our community. In early September, KCHD issued a Health Advisory to area hospitals and local clinicians to make them aware of the outbreak.

“KCHD is currently working with Kanawha County school nurses to monitor the situation”, stated Gupta. Information has been sent home to parents of children in the areas where we have seen the most cases.

Our goal is to make parents and others in the community aware of the illness so they can take prevention measures. Dr. Gupta would like to remind parents that if your child has the above symptoms, keep them home from school or daycare until they are well and without symptoms for at least 24 hours and consult your physician if appropriate. This is particularly important in young children. Adults and children with mild symptoms usually recover quickly. Consult your physician if your child has diarrhea for longer than 24 hours or is unable to retain fluids. Most people who require medical treatment do so because they become dehydrated which can happen more quickly in young children. Some tips for preventing the spread of shigellosis:

• Wash hands with soap carefully and frequently, especially after going to the bathroom, after changing diapers, and before preparing foods or beverages.

• Dispose of soiled diapers properly.

• Disinfect diaper changing areas after using them.

• Keep children with diarrhea out of child care settings.

• Supervise hand washing of toddlers and small children after they use the toilet.

• Do not prepare food for others while ill with diarrhea.

• Avoid swallowing water from ponds, lakes, or untreated pools.

``Hopefully in this two-week period before school starts, we can prevent this from getting into the schools,'' said Dr. John Livengood, the health department's epidemiology chief.

Broward has seen 81 cases of the bacterial disease so far this year, almost twice the 43 cases seen at this point last year. The outbreak this summer centered on several day camps and a few child-care centers, mostly among school-age children, he said.

The number of shigellosis cases throughout Florida has increased as well, to 368 through June, compared with 277 from January through June of 2009, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Shigella spreads through person-to-person contact -- generally fecal matter on the hands -- and causes severe diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps and bloody stools. Symptoms typically last three to five days.

Read more.

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.

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.