Shigella outbreak reported in Missouri

An outbreak of shigellosis has affected more than 143 people in Kansas City, Missouri, most of them children, according to a news release.

City officials noted that Kansas City normally experiences about 10 cases of Shigella per year. Most of the reported cases are related to younger children attending elementary school and day care facilities, the Kansas City Health Department reported.

“What is also concerning is that that we are seeing three different strains that are resistant to certain antibiotics,” Tiffany Wilkinson, MPH, acting communicable disease prevention division manager of the department, said in a news release. “It only takes a few bacteria, sometimes as little as 10 organisms, to infect someone.”

Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria from a symptomatic carrier transmitted via fecal-oral contact. Infected patients can remain infectious for more than 4 weeks, if left untreated. Normal treatment includes antimicrobials that can reduce the stool carriage of Shigella within a few days.

Symptoms of Shigella include abdominal pain, fever, diarrhea, bloody stool, tenesmus and vomiting. Occasionally, it can cause convulsions in younger patients.

To reduce the spread of Shigella, city officials are urging citizens to:

frequently wash hands thoroughly and correctly with soap and warm water;
educate and supervise children regarding proper hand washing;
avoid preparing food or drinks for others if infected with Shigella;
properly dispose of diapers; and,
avoid swimming if infected with Shigella, or experiencing symptoms of diarrhea.

City officials also said certain Shigella carriers require one or two successive negative stool cultures before returning to work or day care. This includes anyone attending or working at a day care facility, anyone working in food preparation and anyone working in health care services.