Shigellosis is an illness that can cause high fever, as well as abdominal problems. On Friday, the health department explained that the city usually sees around 10 cases of shigellosis per year. However, so far this year, there have been 150 reported cases. From January to July this year, was were 16 reported cases of shigellosis, and over the last two months, there have been 134 reported cases of the illness.
The statistics reveal the total number of Shigella cases is 15 times the annual average.
Children in daycare and elementary schools made up the majority of Shigella cases investigated by the health department.
Shigellosis is transmitted via fecal-oral contact with a person who has symptoms. Symptoms of shigellosis include abdominal pain or cramps, stool with blood, watery diarrhea and the urge to go to the bathroom when you bowels are empty. Vomiting and fever are also symptoms associated with shigellosis.
A person who has Shigella bacteria is considered infectious as soon as they start to have symptoms until there is no presence of Shigella in their stool. If Shigella is left untreated, then organisms can remain in the stool for a month or more.
Tiffany Wilkinson, the Acting Communicable Disease Prevention Division Manager, said that they have been seeing three different strains that are resistant to certain antibiotics. She added that sometimes it only takes as little as 10 organisms to infect a person.
People who wish to prevent Shigella should wash their hands frequently, as well as not prepare food or drinks for others until they are no longer carrying Shigella.
