Rock-Island County is putting out word on how to prevent the spread of Shigella, a bacterium that causes dysentery and foodborne illness.  An article published in the Quad-City Times carried the health department’s message:

[Theresa] Foes, assistant administrator for the Rock Island County Health Department, said the virus is passed through the digestive tract. People should wash their hands with soap and water every two hours, and especially before they eat anything.

Rock Island County has 55 laboratory-confirmed cases in persons ages 2 months to 70 years, and the actual number of those infected is believed to be much higher.

There are three reported cases in Scott County, said Amy Thoreson, public information officer.

Simply touching a contaminated surface and then transferring that touch to the mouth will pass along the disease.

“Just imagine an infected person pumps gas. The next person to the station picks up the bacteria from the hose handle. Unknowingly, that person walks in the station, buys a treat and pays for the gas. They eat the food and get the shigella,” Foes said.

Measures for preventing Shigellosis include:

The spread of Shigella from an infected person can be stopped by frequent and careful hand washing with soap and water.11 The ill individual should practice this, as well as any contacts. Supervised hand washing of all children should be followed in day care centers and as soon as children return home.12 Young children with a Shigella infection, or with diarrhea of any cause, should not be in contact with uninfected children.

If a child in diapers has shigellosis, everyone who changes the child’s diapers should be sure the diapers are disposed of properly in a closed-lid garbage can, and should wash his or her hands carefully with soap and warm water immediately after changing the diapers. After use, the diaper changing area should be wiped down with disinfectant, such as household bleach or bactericidal wipes.

At swimming pools, maintaining a chlorine level of at least 0.5-PPM will kill Shigella. At swimming beaches, children not yet toilet trained should be excluded from public swimming areas; stay clear if this rule is broken. Children with diarrhea should never be taken to public swimming areas.

Basic food safety precautions will also help to prevent shigellosis. Shigella organisms are killed by heat used in cooking. People who have shigellosis or any diarrhea should not prepare food for others until they have been shown to no longer be carrying the bacterium.

Drink water only if it has been chlorinated (most tap water) or treated with ozone (most bottled water) and then you know it will not contain pathogenic bacteria. Consume only pasteurized dairy products.

Several newspapers and TV stations are reporting Shigella outbreaks in different areas today.  The first reported outbreak came from WQAD TV in Illinois, which reported on the Rock Island County Health Department’s investigation into an ongoing Shigella outbreak:

The Rock Island County Health Department says there are more confirmed cases of a fast spreading illness known as shigella.

There are now 35 confirmed cases of shigella.

Investigators found several of those in a trailer park in Barstow.

The next report came from St. Louis Today.com, which reported on an outbreak in St. Charles County among children attending day care centers:

About three dozen cases of a bacterial infection known as shigellosis have been reported in day-care centers in St. Charles County.

In addition, higher than normal numbers have been reported in surrounding counties in recent months, according to officials with the St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment.

Because the disease spreads easily, the health department is taking steps to educate residents and avert a wider outbreak.

And the final report came from SCNow.com, which reported that children attending Carver Elementary School, part of the Florence School District, had been diagnosed with Shigellosis, and that the school district was notifying parents. 

Information on preventing Shigella infections rom www.about-shigella.com:

The spread of Shigella from an infected person can be stopped by frequent and careful hand washing with soap and water. The ill individual should practice this, as well as any contacts. Supervised hand washing of all children should be followed in day care centers and as soon as children return home. Young children with a Shigella infection, or with diarrhea of any cause, should not be in contact with uninfected children.

If a child in diapers has shigellosis, everyone who changes the child’s diapers should be sure the diapers are disposed of properly in a closed-lid garbage can, and should wash his or her hands carefully with soap and warm water immediately after changing the diapers. After use, the diaper changing area should be wiped down with disinfectant, such as household bleach or bactericidal wipes.

At swimming pools, maintaining a chlorine level of at least 0.5-PPM will kill Shigella. At swimming beaches, children not yet toilet trained should be excluded from public swimming areas; stay clear if this rule is broken. Children with diarrhea should never be taken to public swimming areas.

Basic food safety precautions will also help to prevent shigellosis. Shigella organisms are killed by heat used in cooking. People who have shigellosis or any diarrhea should not prepare food for others until they have been shown to no longer be carrying the bacterium.

Drink water only if it has been chlorinated (most tap water) or treated with ozone (most bottled water) and then you know it will not contain pathogenic bacteria. Consume only pasteurized dairy products.

On Saturday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned consumers not to eat baby carrots produced by the Los Angeles Salad Company because the baby carrots had been identified as the source of a Shigella outbreak.  According to the CFIA warning:

The affected product, Los Angeles Salad Company Genuine Sweet Baby Carrots, is labelled as product of Mexico and imported by Los Angeles Salad Company. It is sold in 672 g/1.5 lb plastic bags bearing ITM 50325, UPC 8 31129 00137 7 and Sell By dates up to and including 8 /13 /07.

This product was sold in Costco stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland.

There have been four reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

Pasadena Health Department investigators continue to work to determine the source of a Shigella outbreak that was traced to a restaurant earlier this month.  Yesterday’s Arcadia  Weekly reported on the outbreak.

Pasadena Public Health Department’s ongoing shigella outbreak investigation, in coordination with Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, has identified 44 confirmed or suspected cases linked to the [restaurant] in Pasadena.

Thirteen of the cases have been verified by laboratory testing; the samples are undergoing additional testing to determine if the strain is related to any other outbreaks in the U.S. Additional reported cases are awaiting confirmation and are under investigation.

On Aug. 2 Pasadena Public Health Department narrowed down the site of the outbreak to customers who ate at the [restaurant] in Pasadena between July 22 and July 25.

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.” Shigella bacteria can infect the intestinal tract after the ingestion of relatively few organisms. This is why shigellosis is the most communicable of the bacterial-induced diarrheas.

Montgomery County, Ohio, health officials are investigating a case of Shigellosis in an 8-year-old child who attends a daycare center, according to a report in the Dayton Daily News.  The child is one of approximately 40 who share a classroom at Clara’s Heart day care center, which closed after the child was diagnosed. 

The 8-year-old, classmates, and the center’s staff members will all be tested for Shigella bacterial infections.  The Daily News interviewed Bill Wharton, spokesman for Public Health-Dayton and Montgomery  County for the article that appeared today:

"We’re still in the early stages" of the investigation, Wharton said.

Clara’s Heart director Val Jackson said the center conducted a "major cleaning" Tuesday.

"Every precaution has been taken," Jackson said.

The center has approximately 110 children enrolled, she said.

Alabama health officials are warning residents that Shigella is making its way across the state.  The Troy Messenger carried a story on the outbreak today.  The story included information released by the Alabama Department of Public Health, which stated that 40 residents of Barbour, Crenshaw, Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, and Pike counties have been ill with Shigellosis in the last three months. 

The Messenger further stated carried a quote from ADPH spokesperson Eileen Rogers:

“At this time, it is important that everyone increase the frequency and care of hand washing. Some individuals who are infected may have no symptoms at all, but still pass the Shigella bacteria to others.”

In addition, those infected with Shigella often remain infectious for several weeks.

The ADPH recommends that individuals experiencing fever, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea or diarrhea lasting more than 48 hours seek medical care.

The South Dakota Department of Health is reminding parents to protect their children from shigellosis, a common bacterial infection that increases in the summer.

Shigellosis is spread by eating or drinking contaminated food or water or by direct contact with an infected person. Kids in day care are at higher risk due to their frequent hand to mouth contact. People exposed to shigella may have mild or severe diarrhea or may show no symptoms at all.

“The single most important way to prevent the spread of shigellosis is to practice careful and thorough hand-washing after using the toilet,” said Josh Clayton, Surveillance Coordinator for the Department of Health. “It’s particularly important in child care centers because young kids are constantly putting their hands and other objects in their mouths, increasing their risk.”

Tri-State health officials say they’ve experienced an outbreak of shigella in the past few months, but that they’ve got the illness under control.

Shigella is a bacteria that causes an infectious disease whose symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever – especially in young children.

Dr. Larry Holditch, medical director of the Cincinnati Health Department, said the normal number of cases is about 10 per month in the City of Cincinnati, and another 10 in the region.

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A small outbreak of the intestinal infection known as shigellosis has been recorded in the past three weeks in Mobile County, the first outbreak health workers have seen in the area since 2002, according to the Mobile County Health Department.

Shigellosis, caused by shigella bacteria, can be marked by dysentery, blood in the stool, diarrhea, fever, stomach cramping, headache, nausea and vomiting. It is highly contagious through the fecal-oral route, and it can usually be treated with five days of antibiotics, health workers said.

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GATE GOURMET OUTBREAK FACTS

In September, 2004, health agencies from many U.S. states, as well as international health agencies, began reporting persons ill with Shigella sonnei infections. Tests conducted on many U.S. residents who had cultured positive for the bacteria revealed a matching genetic pattern amongst the samples provided. Epidemiological investigation revealed that a cluster of persons ill with the genetically identical strain of Shigella sonnei had traveled by air from Honolulu, Hawaii during August 22 through 24, 2004.

Further investigation established that food from the defendant, Gate Gourmet, Inc.’s, Honolulu, Hawaii location, was the common link between the airlines and the cluster of persons ill with the genetically identical strain of Shigella sonnei. On February 25 and 26, 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the Gate Gourmet, Inc., facility located at 324 Rodgers Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii, which provides food and beverage service to various airlines at Honolulu Airport. By letter to the defendant’s Chairman and CEO dated April 21, 2005, FDA District Director Barbara Cassens noted that, “The observations made during the inspection revealed that your facility is in violation of the Public Health Service Act and the Interstate Conveyance Sanitation regulations.”

The District Director’s letter listed a litany of violations:

•Perishable food holding temperature violations: “Cooked turkey placed in the refrigerator at 10:30 a.m. showed a temperature of 98° F at 2:50 p.m. . . . Cooked pork placed in the refrigerator at 10:00 a.m. showed a temperature of 87° F at 2:53 p.m.”
•Pest and vermin violations: “Your firm failed to construct and maintain your facility to be free from flies and other vermin.” Also, “in the pot wash area, salad area and hallways were dirty uncovered trash cans and trash carts with fruit flies and cockroaches in and near them.”
•Equipment maintenance and cleanliness violations: “Handles of all refrigeration units were dirty and sticky with old food residue build up . . . The reach-in refrigerator had mold growing on the windows . . . [and] A pink slimy substance was dripping onto the conveyor at the ‘clean end’ of the pot washing machine.”
•Bare-handed contact with ready-to-serve items: “Specifically, ice used for drinking came into contact with employees’ bare hands while being loaded into bags.”