SHIGELLA

Course overview

SHIGELLOSIS IS A FORM OF BACTERIAL DIARRHEA CAUSED BY THE SHIGELLA SPECIES. IT IS COMMON IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND IS TRANSMITTED VIA THE INGESTION OF CONTAMINATED FOOD, POOR SANITATION, OR DIRECT PERSON-TO-PERSON CONTACT. IT CAN OCCUR IN ALL AGE GROUPS, BUT HIGH-RISK GROUPS INCLUDE THE VERY YOUNG, THE ELDERLY, AND IMMUNOCOMPROMISED INDIVIDUALS. SHIGELLA IS RELATIVELY RESISTANT TO ACID IN THE STOMACH, AND FEW ORGANISMS ARE REQUIRED TO CAUSE THE DISEASE. ONCE INGESTED, IT MULTIPLIES IN THE SMALL INTESTINE THEN ENTERS THE COLON, WHERE IT PRODUCES SHIGELLA ENTEROTOXINS AND SEROTYPE TOXIN 1, WHICH CAUSE WATERY OR BLOODY DIARRHEA. CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS USUALLY PRESENT BETWEEN 12 HOURS AND 3 DAYS OF INGESTION OF THE ORGANISM AND THE AVERAGE INCUBATION PERIOD IS 3 DAYS. SYMPTOMS INCLUDE HIGH FEVER, VOMITING, DIFFUSE COLICKY ABDOMINAL PAIN FOLLOWED BY BLOODY MUCOID DIARRHEA, AND TENESMUS. THE CONDITION USUALLY SELF-RESOLVES WITHIN 5 TO 7 DAYS OF ONSET OF SYMPTOMS. HOWEVER, THE VERY YOUNG, THE ELDERLY, AND THE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED MAY SUFFER COMPLICATIONS OR EVEN DEATH FROM THIS DISEASE. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION, TREATMENT, AND COMPLICATIONS OF SHIGELLOSIS AND UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF AN INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM APPROACH TO ITS MANAGEMENT.