{"id":1500,"date":"2020-05-04T11:59:46","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T11:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.kayawell.com\/?p=1500"},"modified":"2020-05-05T12:39:51","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T12:39:51","slug":"shigella-infection-symptoms-causes-risk-factors-and-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/shigella-infection-symptoms-causes-risk-factors-and-prevention","title":{"rendered":"Shigella Infection- Symptoms, Causes, Risk Factors and Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shigella\ninfection (shigellosis) is an intestinal disease caused by the shigella family\nof bacteria. Diarrhoea is the main symptom of shigella infection, which is\nfrequently bloody. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shigella may\nbe spread by direct contact with the stool bacteria. This may occur in\nchildcare environments, for instance, when staff members do not wash their\nhands well enough after changing the diapers or supporting toilet-training\ninfants. Shigella bacteria may also be passed into infected food, or polluted\nwater through drinking or swimming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children\nunder the age of 5 are more likely to be diagnosed with shigella but it can\noccur at any age. Typically, a mild case clears up by itself within a week.\nDoctors usually prescribe antibiotics when treatment is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms of<\/strong>Shigella Infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Shigella\ninfection signs and symptoms normally begin a day or two after shigella contact\nbut can take up to one week to develop. Signs and symptoms may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Diarrhea (mostly containing blood or mucus)<\/li>
  • Abdominal pain or cramps<\/li>
  • Fever<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    While some\npeople have no symptoms following Shigella infection, their faeces can still be\ninfectious for up to a few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When to see a doctor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you or\nyour child has bloody diarrhoea or diarrhoea that is serious enough to cause\nweight loss and dehydration contact your doctor or seek urgent treatment.\nRemember, if you or your child has diarrhoea and a fever of 101 F (38 C) or\nhigher, call your doctor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Causes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Infection\nhappens when bacteria from shigella are mistakenly swallowed. It may happen if\nyou:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Touch your mouth:<\/strong> If you do\nnot wash your hands well after changing a child’s diaper that has a shigella\ninfection, you may become infected. The most common method of transmitting the\ndisease is direct person-to-person communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Eat contaminated Food:<\/strong> Infected\npeople handling food may pass the bacteria on to people who consume the food.\nFood can also become contaminated if it grows in a field that contains sewage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Swallow Contaminated Water:<\/strong> Water can\nbecome infected by sewage or by someone with Shigella infection swimming on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Risk factors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Age:<\/strong> Infant under the age of 5 are\nmore likely to be diagnosed with shigella but it can occur at any age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Living arrangements and activities:<\/strong> Close\ncontact with others allows the bacteria to spread from person to person.\nOutbreaks of Shigella are more in childcare centres, community wading pools,\nnursing homes, hospitals and military barracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Time spent in areas that lack sanitation:<\/strong> People\nliving or travelling in developing countries are more likely to acquire\nshigella infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Men who have sex with men:<\/strong> Men who\nhave sex with men are at greater risk due to oral-anal direct or indirect\ncontact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Complications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Shigella\nInfection typically clears up without complications, but it may take weeks or\nmonths for the bowel habits to normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Complications can include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dehydration:<\/strong> Constant\ndiarrhoea can lead to dehydration. Symptoms include lightheadedness, dizziness,\nchild lack of tears, sunken eyes, and dry diapers. High dehydration can cause\nshock and death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Seizures:<\/strong> Any kids who have a shigella\ninfection experience high fevers and seizures. This is not clear the\nconvulsions are the result of fever or the shigella infection itself. If your\nchild has a seizure, immediately contact your doctor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rectal Prolapse:<\/strong> In this\ncondition discomfort during bowel movements may cause the mucous membrane or\nrectum lining to pass through the anus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome:<\/strong> An unusual\nand complex condition of shigella, caused more often by the bacteria E. coli,\ncan result in red blood cell counts (hemolytic anaemia), low platelet counts\n(thrombocytopenia), and acute kidney failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Toxic Megacolon:<\/strong> This\nunusual condition happens when the colon is paralyzed, preventing movement of\nthe intestine or stop passing gas. Symptoms and symptoms include abdominal\npain, swelling, fever and fatigue. If you don’t get toxic megacolon treatment,\nyour colon can break open (rupture), cause peritonitis, and a life-threatening\ninfection that needs emergency surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Reactive Arthritis:<\/strong> Reactive\narthritis develops in response to an infection. Signs and symptoms include\njoint pain and inflammation, usually in the ankles, knees, feet and hips;\nredness, itching and discharge in one or both eyes (conjunctivitis); and\npainful urination (urethritis).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prevention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Although\nresearchers continue their work to develop a Shigella vaccine, nothing is\navailable yet. To prevent the spread of shigella:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Wash hands frequently and thoroughly<\/li>
    • Watch young children when they wash their\nhands<\/li>
    • Dispose of soiled diapers properly<\/li>
    • Disinfect diaper-changing areas after use<\/li>
    • Don’t prepare food for others if you have\ndiarrhoea<\/li>
    • Children who have diarrhoea keep away them\nfrom childcare, playing groups or school<\/li>
    • Avoid drinking water of ponds, lakes or\nuntreated pools<\/li>
    • Avoid sexual activity with anyone who has\ndiarrhoea or who has recently recovered from diarrhoea.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Overview Shigella infection (shigellosis) is an intestinal disease caused by the shigella family of bacteria. Diarrhoea is the main symptom of shigella infection, which is frequently bloody. Shigella may be spread by direct contact with the stool bacteria. This may occur in childcare environments, for instance, when staff members do not wash their hands well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthcare"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}