Health officials in Marion County, Indiana are hoping the Christmas & New Year’s break from school will also help break the back of a serious uptick in Shigella cases in the Hoosier State capital city area.
Prior to the winter vacation, Indianapolis health officials were warning residents to wash their hands after noticing "a spike in the number of cases of a highly contagious infection that causes bloody diarrhea and fever.
![]() |
"
As it prepared to close out the year, the Indianapolis Star reported that: "So far this year in Marion County, there have been 107 cases of shigella, a bacterial disease transmitted only by humans. Last year at this time, the county had had 58 cases."
Star health writer Shari Rudavsky went on to report that: