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Diseases » Shigellosis » Summary
 

What is Shigellosis?

What is Shigellosis?

  • Shigellosis: An infectious disease which affects the intestinal tract and is caused by the Shigella bacteria. The condition may be severe, especially in children, but may be asymptomatic in some cases. The disease can be transmitted through fecal-oral contact.
  • Shigellosis: dysentary caused by gram negative rod shaped enteric bacteria, most often by the genus Shigella; Shigella dysentery, Shigellosis, is classified into subgroups according to syndrome severity and the infectious species.
    Source - Diseases Database
  • Shigellosis: an acute infection of the intestine by Shigella bacteria; characterized by diarrhea and fever and abdominal pains.
    Source - WordNet 2.1

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Shigellosis as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet

Shigellosis: Introduction

Types of Shigellosis:

Types of Shigellosis:

Broader types of Shigellosis:

How many people get Shigellosis?

Incidence (annual) of Shigellosis: 17,521 annual cases of shigellosis notified in USA 1999 (MMWR 1999)
Incidence Rate of Shigellosis: approx 1 in 15,524 or 0.01% or 17,521 people in USA [about data]
Prevalance of Shigellosis: An estimated 300,000 cases of shigellosis occur annually in the U.S. The number attributable to food is unknown, but given the low infectious dose, it is probably substantial. Summary of Notifiable Diseases, United States, 1997:MMWR 46(54) (Source: FDA Bad Bug Book) ... Every year, about 18,000 cases of shigellosis are reported in the United States. Because many milder cases are not diagnosed or reported, the actual number of infections may be twenty times greater. (Source: excerpt from Shigellosis (General): DBMD)

Who gets Shigellosis?

Profile for Shigellosis: Target Populations: Infants, the elderly, and the infirm are susceptible to the severest symptoms of disease, but all humans are susceptible to some degree. Shigellosis is a very common malady suffered by individuals with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex, as well as non-AIDS homosexual men. (Source: FDA Bad Bug Book)

How serious is Shigellosis?

Complications of Shigellosis: see complications of Shigellosis
Deaths for Shigellosis: 10 reported deaths in USA 1999 for shigellosis and amebiasis (NVSR Sep 2001)

What causes Shigellosis?

Causes of Shigellosis: see causes of Shigellosis
Cause of Shigellosis: Shigella bacterial infection of the digestive tract.
Causes of Shigellosis: The disease is caused when virulent Shigella organisms attach to, and penetrate, epithelial cells of the intestinal mucosa. After invasion, they multiply intracellularly, and spread to contiguous epitheleal cells resulting in tissue destruction. Some strains produce enterotoxin and Shiga toxin (very much like the verotoxin of E. coli O157:H7). (Source: FDA Bad Bug Book)
Risk factors for Shigellosis: see risk factors for Shigellosis

What are the symptoms of Shigellosis?

Symptoms of Shigellosis: see symptoms of Shigellosis

Complications of Shigellosis: see complications of Shigellosis

Incubation period for Shigellosis: Onset time -- 12 to 50 hours. (Source: FDA Bad Bug Book)

Duration of Shigellosis: Shigellosis usually resolves in 5 to 7 days. (Source: excerpt from Shigellosis (General): DBMD)

Seasonality of Shigellosis: Shigellosis is more common in summer than winter. (Source: excerpt from Shigellosis (General): DBMD)

Can anyone else get Shigellosis?

More information: see contagiousness of Shigellosis

Shigellosis: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Shigellosis.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Shigellosis.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Shigellosis: see treatments for Shigellosis
Prevention of Shigellosis: see prevention of Shigellosis
Research for Shigellosis: see research for Shigellosis

Society issues for Shigellosis


Hospitalization statistics for Shigellosis: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Shigellosis:

  • 0.0006% (74) of hospital consultant episodes were for shigellosis in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 82% of hospital consultant episodes for shigellosis required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 49% of hospital consultant episodes for shigellosis were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 51% of hospital consultant episodes for shigellosis were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 98% of hospital consultant episodes for shigellosis required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • more statistics...»

Organs Affected by Shigellosis:

Organs and body systems related to Shigellosis include:

Name and Aliases of Shigellosis

Main name of condition: Shigellosis

Class of Condition for Shigellosis: bacterial

Other names or spellings for Shigellosis:

Shigella food poisoning, Shigella, Bacillary dysentery, Flexner's dysentery, Japanese dysentery, bacillary dysentery

Bacillary dysentery Source - Diseases Database

Shigellosis, Bacillary dysentery
Source - WordNet 2.1

Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Shigellosis:


 » Next page: Online Medical Textbooks for Shigellosis

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