What is shigella found in?

What is shigella found in?

Shigella is found in the intestinal tract of infected people, and is spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with the bacteria. It can also be spread by direct contact with feces (even with microscopic amounts) from an infected person.

Where is Shigella bacillus found?

It is only naturally found in humans and gorillas. During infection, it typically causes dysentery. Shigella is one of the leading bacterial causes of diarrhea worldwide, causing an estimated 80–165 million cases. The number of deaths it causes each year is estimated at between 74,000 and 600,000.

What are common sources of Shigella?

Salads (potato, tuna, shrimp, macaroni, and chicken), raw vegetables, milk and dairy products, and poultry can carry Shigella bacteria. Water contaminated with human waste and unsanitary handling by food handlers are the most common causes of contamination in these food products.

Which species of Shigella is most common?

Shigella sonnei (the most common species in the United States)

Is shigella a virus or bacteria?

Shigella infection (shigellosis) is an intestinal infection caused by a family of bacteria known as shigella. The main sign of shigella infection is diarrhea, which often is bloody.

Who is at high risk for Shigella?

Young children are the most likely to get shigellosis, but people of all ages can get this disease 1. Many outbreaks are related to childcare settings and schools. Illness commonly spreads from young children to their family members and others in their communities because it is so contagious.

Is Shigella a virus or bacteria?

When can a person with Shigella come back?

Most infected people may return to work or school when they no longer have diarrhea and fever. Since the Shigella bacteria may continue to be in their stool for several weeks, infected people should wash their hands with soap and water, especially after every bathroom visit.

Where is Shigella most commonly found?

Shigella is found in the stool (feces) of infected people, in food or water contaminated by an infected person, and on surfaces that have been touched by infected people. Shigellosis often occurs in toddlers who are not fully toilet-trained.

Can you get Shigella from kissing?

Shigella bacteria without ever having symptoms. An infected person can spread the bacteria for as long as four weeks. Shigella is not spread from one person to another by coughing or sneezing, sharing drinks, hugging or kissing.

Can Shigella cause death?

Worldwide, Shigella is estimated to cause 80–165 million cases of disease and 600,000 deaths annually; of these, 20–119 million illnesses and 6,900–30,000 deaths are attributed to foodborne transmission. Shigella spp. are endemic in temperate and tropical climates.

What happens if Shigella goes untreated?

Untreated, the colon may rupture and cause peritonitis, a life-threatening condition requiring emergency surgery. The other relatively rare complication that can occur with a Shigella infection is the development of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

What does Shigella do to the human body?

After entering the body in contaminated food, Shigella group bacteria infect cells that line the inside of the intestines and often produce a toxin. The toxin affects both the intestines and the nervous system. Cells of the intestinal lining are damaged, which causes inflammation and bleeding.

Is Shigella contagious, how do you get it?

Shigellosis is very contagious. People can get infected through contact with something contaminated by stool (poop) from an infected person, such as: Shigella also can spread via: It doesn’t take many Shigella bacteria to cause an infection, so the illness spreads easily in families and childcare centers.

What disease does Shigella cause?

Shigellosis is an infection of the colon (large intestine) caused by Shigella bacteria. Shigellosis is also called bacillary dysentery because it can cause severe diarrhea.

What are the symptoms associated with Shigella?

Signs and Symptoms. A Shigella infection can cause mild watery or loose stools with no other symptoms, or it can be more serious, with fever, abdominal cramps or tenderness, crampy rectal pain (tenesmus), and mucous-filled and sometimes bloody stools.