|
Introduction
Shigellosis is an acute disease usually characterized by diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps. The diarrhea is often watery and bloody. Symptoms usually develop 1 to 3 days after infection. Illness is usually self-limiting. Host-specific factors play a role in the presentation and severity of illness. Some persons who are infected may have no symptoms at all, while others, especially young children and the elderly, can have disease so severe that hospitalization is required. A severe infection with high fever may also be associated with seizures in children less than 2 years of age. Fluid and electrolyte replacement is recommended for cases with watery diarrhea and signs of dehydration. Antibiotics are usually given to treat severe cases.
The only significant reservoir is humans. However, prolonged outbreaks have occurred in primate colonies. A small inoculum (20 to 200 organisms) is sufficient to cause infection. As a result, person-to-person spread can easily occur by the fecal-oral route. This particularly occurs among infants and children who are not fully toilet-trained. Shigella infections may be acquired from eating contaminated food. Food may become contaminated by infected food handlers with poor hand-washing techniques. Vegetables can become contaminated if they are harvested from a field fertilized with "night soil" (human feces) or sewage. Flies may also act as vectors, breeding in feces and then alighting upon, and contaminating food items. Shigella infections may also be acquired by drinking or swimming in contaminated water.
The following is a review of passively-reported surveillance data on shigellosis among Houston residents collected by the Bureau of Epidemiology at the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) from 1995 through 1999.
Go to page 2
|
|
