Shigella is Gram - negative and belongs to the family of Enterobacteriaceae. It has a shape that resembles a rod, and is very similar to the Escherichia coli. The bacteria is non-motil, nonspore forming and facultative anaerobic. Shigella is only found in humans and apes, and not any other mammals. If an individual is infected with Shigella, he would develop Shigellosis, which is an infectious disease.
Shigella can be divided into four main species: Serogroup A or S. dysenteriae, Serogroup B or S. flexneri, Serogroup C or S. boydii and Serogroup D: S. sonnei. In terms of structure, groups A, B and C are very similar. Group D is slightly different in the biochemical metabolism aspect. Primarily, Group D is the cause of Shigella infection, followed by Group B. There are other types as well, but they are not as common as these.
Transmission
Shigella is transmitted from one place to another through direct contact with infected stool. For instance, if hand washing is not done properly after changing diapers or helping kids with toilet training, Shigella can be transferred. As such, thorough hand washing is a must after doing any of these activities. If you do not, the disease would enter your body when you eat, and you would also develop an infection.
The infection can also spread through contaminated food. If you are infected, the food would become contaminated and anyone who eats it would be at risk. Water can also be contaminated if it originates or passes through sewage.
Effects on Health
Shigella causes an intestinal infection that is known as shigellosis. The main symptom of this disease is diarrhea, which may even contain blood. The person may also suffer from fever and feel adnominal cramps. As the infection progresses, the diarrhea can get worse and lead to dehydration and substantial weight loss. In some cases, the symptoms do not appear, but the stool of these individuals would still be contagious.
Generally, Shigella infection is more prone to developing in kids aged between 2 and 4. The symptoms can disappear in about a week if they are mild. If the infection, advance antibiotics may be prescribed to treat the infection.
Prevention
As of now, no vaccine has been developed for Shigella, but there are a lot of other preventive measures that you can take.
- Hand washing should be done regularly and thoroughly. Make sure your child also washes his hand thoroughly.
- Dispose used diapers properly
- Do not drink or swallow water from lakes, ponds and pools. It would be contaminated if someone with an infection has swum in it.