Shigella infection mainly affects the intestine and can cause diarrhoea, stomach pain, and fever
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Earlier this week, a teenage girl died and about 30 were admitted to the hospital in Kerala’s Kasaragod after eating shawarma from an eatery. The Kerala health department has identified Shigella bacteria as the cause for the food poisoning incident.
According to a report by the Indian Express, the presence of the bacteria was confirmed in the blood and faeces of people who were admitted after eating chicken shawarma from an eatery at Cheruvathur in Kasaragod last week.
Police have arrested the owner and staff of the eatery.
The Kerala High Court has taken cognisance of the incident and sought the state government’s stand on it.
What is shigella?
Shigella is one of the leading bacterial causes of diarrhoea worldwide and is an intestinal infection caused by a family of bacteria named enterobacter. However, not all of the bacteria in the enterobacter family cause diseases in humans.
Shigella mainly affects the intestine and can cause diarrhoea, stomach pain, and fever.
The infection spreads easily as it takes only “a small number of bacteria to make someone ill”, says the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The disease is easily spread by direct or indirect contact with the excrement of the patient. You can get the infection if you swim or take a bath in contaminated water.
How common is Shigella infection?
According to a report by the Indian Express, Shigella infections are not very common.
“Perhaps one in 100 cases of diarrhoea in our hospital would be shigellosis,” Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant of internal medicine at Indraprastha Apollo hospital in New Delhi, said, as per the report.
The outbreaks are more common and severe during pregnancy, in children under five years of age, and in those with weakened immune systems.
There are four types of Shigella bacteria that affect humans, according to the CDC. These are Shigella sonnei, Shigella flexneri, Shigella boydii, and Shigella dysenteriae. The fourth type causes the most severe disease because of the toxin it produces.
When should you see a doctor?
If a person is suffering with severe diarrhoea, which means 20 or more bowel movements in a day, they should see a doctor within a day. A patient with mild symptoms can wait for three to four days before going to a doctor.
Also, if an infected person is running a fever of 101 degrees F (38 deg C) or higher, one must immediately approach a doctor.
Is death common in shigella infection?
The infection does not generally kill, unless the patient has a weak immune system. It can also turn fatal if the bacteria is resistant to the medicines.
What are the precautions?
One should take the same precautions as that of any food and water-borne diseases. Washing the hands thoroughly before and after a meal, ensuring the drinking water is clean and the fruits and vegetables are fresh.
Ensure products such as milk, chicken, and fish that have a higher tendency to spoil must be kept at a proper temperature and also cooked well.
With inputs from agencies
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