Texas is the latest state to report a local outbreak of Shigella. The location is Karnes County, where parents in all four school districts in the county have been warned about the outbreak. The warning came in the form of a letter from the Texas Department of Health Services. A copy can be found here.
The four school districts involved are Falls City, Karnes City, Kenedy, and Runge. Health officials said there have been "several" confirmed cases of Shigella in the county since April.
The disease is passed from person to person by the fecal-oral route. The letter sent from the Texas Department of State Health Services states that any individual with Shigella should see a doctor and may be treated with antibiotics. It goes on to say that students may return to school after completing the appropriate antibiotic treatment or 48 hours after the diarrhea has stopped.
Among the places that have seen Shigella outbreaks in 2008 are: New York, Arkansas, Iowa, and South Dakota.
