shigellosis
Sign in to saveAlso known as bacillary dysentery, Marlow Syndrome, Shigella boydii infectious disease, Shigella flexneri infectious disease, Shigella sonnei infectious disease, Shigella colitis, Shigella gastroenteritis, Dysentery, Bacillary
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Shigellosis
- Medical condition (new).synonyms
- Bacillary dysentery, Marlow syndrome
- Medical condition (new).image
- Shigella stool.jpg
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Shigella seen in a stool sample
- Medical condition (new).field
- Infectious disease
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- Diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain
- Medical condition (new).complications
- Reactive arthritis, sepsis, seizures, hemolytic uremic syndrome
- Medical condition (new).onset
- 1–2 days post exposure
- Medical condition (new).duration
- Usually 5–7 days
- Medical condition (new).causes
- Shigella
- Medical condition (new).diagnosis
- Stool culture
- Medical condition (new).prevention
- Handwashing
- Medical condition (new).treatment
- Drinking fluids and rest
- Medical condition (new).medication
- Antibiotics (severe cases)
- Medical condition (new).frequency
- >80 million
- Medical condition (new).deaths
- 700,000
via Wikipedia infobox
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
14 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Cause
- Bacteria
- Transmission
- Mechanism
- Diagnosis
- Prevention
- Vaccine
- Treatment
- Antibiotics
- Epidemiology
- See also
- References
- External links
Shigellosis, known historically as dysentery, is an infection of the intestines caused by Shigella bacteria. Symptoms generally start one to two days after exposure and include diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, and feeling the need to pass stools even when the bowels are empty. The diarrhea may be bloody. Symptoms typically last five to seven days and it may take several months before bowel habits return entirely to normal. Complications can include reactive arthritis, sepsis, seizures, and hemolytic uremic syndrome.
Shigellosis is caused by four specific types of Shigella. These are typically spread by exposure to infected feces. This can occur via contaminated food, water, hands or sexual contact. Contamination may be spread by flies or when changing diapers (nappies). Diagnosis is by stool culture.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “shigellosis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.