Shigellosis

{{Short description|Infection of the intestines by Shigella bacteria}}

{{Infobox medical condition (new)

| name = Shigellosis

| synonyms = Bacillary dysentery, Marlow syndrome

| image = Shigella stool.jpg

| caption = Shigella seen in a stool sample

| field = Infectious disease

| symptoms = Diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain

| complications = Reactive arthritis, sepsis, seizures, hemolytic uremic syndrome

| onset = 1–2 days post exposure

| duration = Usually 5–7 days

| causes = Shigella

| risks =

| diagnosis = Stool culture

| differential =

| prevention = Handwashing

| treatment = Drinking fluids and rest

| medication = Antibiotics (severe cases)

| prognosis =

| frequency = >80 million

| deaths = 700,000

}}

Shigellosis, known historically as dysentery, is an infection of the intestines caused by Shigella bacteria.{{cite web |title=Factsheet about shigellosis |url=https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/shigellosis/facts |website=European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control |date=8 July 2010 |language=en}} Symptoms generally start one to two days after exposure and include diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, and feeling the need to pass stools even when the bowels are empty. The diarrhea may be bloody. Symptoms typically last five to seven days and it may take several months before bowel habits return entirely to normal. Complications can include reactive arthritis, sepsis, seizures, and hemolytic uremic syndrome.{{cite web |title=General Information{{!}} Shigella – Shigellosis {{!}} CDC |url=https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/general-information.html |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=20 April 2017 |language=en-us|date=3 August 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416130145/https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/general-information.html |archive-date=16 April 2017}}

Shigellosis is caused by four specific types of Shigella.{{cite book |title=Guidelines for the control of shigellosis, including epidemics due to Shigella dysenteriae type 1 |date=2005 |publisher=WHO |isbn=978-9241593304 |page=2 |url=http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/43252/1/924159330X.pdf |access-date=20 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821075521/http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/43252/1/924159330X.pdf |archive-date=21 August 2017}} These are typically spread by exposure to infected feces. This can occur via contaminated food, water, or hands or sexual contact.{{cite book |title=Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019 |date=2019 |publisher=CDC |page=9 |url=https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/threats-report/2019-ar-threats-report-508.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/threats-report/2019-ar-threats-report-508.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live}} Contamination may be spread by flies or when changing diapers (nappies). Diagnosis is by stool culture.

The risk of infection can be reduced by properly washing the hands. There is no vaccine. Shigellosis usually resolves without specific treatment. Rest, and sufficient fluids by mouth, are recommended. Bismuth subsalicylate may help with the symptoms; however, medications that slow the bowels such as loperamide are not recommended. In severe cases antibiotics may be used but resistance is common.{{cite web |title=Update – CDC Recommendations for Managing and Reporting Shigella Infections with Possible Reduced Susceptibility to Ciprofloxacin |url=https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00411.asp |website=emergency.cdc.gov |access-date=16 June 2018 |language=en-us |date=7 June 2018}} Commonly used antibiotics include ciprofloxacin and azithromycin.

A 2005 report by the World Health Organization estimated that shigellosis occurs in at least 80 million people and results in about 700,000 deaths a year globally. Most cases occur in the developing world. Young children are most commonly affected. Outbreaks of disease may occur in childcare settings and schools. It is also relatively common among travelers. In the United States about half a million cases occur a year.

Signs and symptoms

Signs and symptoms may range from mild abdominal discomfort to severe dysentery characterized by cramps, diarrhea, with slimy-consistent stools, fever, blood, pus, or mucus in stools or tenesmus.{{cite web |title=Shigellosis |url=http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/infections/bacterial_infections/shigellosis.html |publisher=The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook |access-date=10 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104063319/http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/infections/bacterial_infections/shigellosis.html |archive-date=4 January 2012}}{{cite journal |last1=Niyogi |first1=SK |title=Shigellosis |journal=Journal of Microbiology (Seoul, Korea) |date=April 2005 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=133–43 |pmid=15880088}} Onset time is 12 to 96 hours, and recovery takes 5 to 7 days.{{cite web |title=Symptoms of Shigella Infection |url=http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_symptoms_risks |website=About Shigella |access-date=10 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108012552/http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_symptoms_risks |archive-date=8 January 2012}}

Infections are associated with mucosal ulceration, rectal bleeding, and drastic dehydration. Reactive arthritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome are possible sequelae that have been reported in the aftermath of shigellosis.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

The most common neurological symptom includes seizures.{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/vaccine_research/diseases/diarrhoeal/en/index6.html |title=Diarrhoeal Diseases: Shigellosis |publisher=World Health Organization |work=Initiative for Vaccine Research |access-date=11 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215123745/http://www.who.int/vaccine_research/diseases/diarrhoeal/en/index6.html |archive-date=15 December 2008}}

Cause

=Bacteria=

Shigellosis is caused by a bacterial infection with Shigella, a bacterium that is genetically similar to and was once classified as E. coli.{{cite journal |last1=Devanga Ragupathi |first1=NK |last2=Muthuirulandi Sethuvel |first2=DP |last3=Inbanathan |first3=FY |last4=Veeraraghavan |first4=B |title=Accurate differentiation of Escherichia coli and Shigella serogroups: challenges and strategies |journal=New Microbes New Infect. |volume=21 |date=21 January 2018 |pages=58–62 |doi=10.1016/j.nmni.2017.09.003 |pmid=29204286 |pmc=5711669}} There are three serogroups and one serotype of Shigella:

The probability of being infected by any given strain of Shigella varies around the world. For instance, S. sonnei is the most common in the United States, while S. dysenteriae and S. boydii are rare there.

= Transmission =

Shigella is transmitted through the fecal-oral route of individuals infected with the disease, whether or not they are exhibiting symptoms.{{cite web |title=Shigellosis (Bacillary Dysentery) |url=https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/infectious-diseases/gram-negative-bacilli/shigellosis |website=Merck Manual Professional Version | access-date=16 March 2018}} Long-term carriers of the bacteria are rare. The bacteria can infect not just humans but other primates as well.{{cite web |last=Bowen |first=Anna |title=Travelers' Health, Chapter 3, Shigellosis (CDC) |url=https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2018/infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/shigellosis |access-date=17 March 2018 |language=en-us |date=31 May 2017}}

Mechanism

Upon ingestion, the bacteria pass through the gastrointestinal tract until they reach the small intestine. There they begin to multiply until they reach the large intestine.{{cite book |last1=Aslam |first1=A |last2=Gossman |first2=WG |title=Shigella (Shigellosis) |date=14 February 2018 |location=Treasure Island, FL |publisher=StatPearls |pmid=29493962}} In the large intestine, the bacteria cause cell injury and the beginning stages of Shigellosis via two main mechanisms: direct invasion of epithelial cells in the large intestine and production of enterotoxin 1 and enterotoxin 2.

Unlike other bacteria, Shigella is not destroyed by the gastric acid in the stomach. As a result, it takes only 10 to 200 cells to cause an infection. This infectious dose is several orders of magnitude smaller than that of other species of bacteria (e.g., cholera, caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, has an infectious dose between 10⁸ and 10¹¹ cells).{{cite journal |last1=Nelson |first1=EJ |last2=Harris |first2=JB |last3=Glenn Morris Jr. |first3=J |last4=Calderwood |first4=SB |last5=Camilli |first5=A |title=Cholera transmission: the host, pathogen and bacteriophage dynamic |journal=Nat Rev Microbiol |date=October 2009 |volume=7 |issue=10 |pages=693–702 |doi=10.1038/nrmicro2204 |pmid=19756008 |pmc=3842031}}

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of shigellosis is made by isolating the organism from diarrheal fecal sample cultures. Shigella species are negative for motility and are generally not lactose fermenters, but S. sonnei can ferment lactose.{{cite journal |last1=Ito |first1=Hideo |last2=Kido |first2=Nobuo |last3=Arakawa |first3=Yoshichika |last4=Ohta |first4=Michio |last5=Sugiyama |first5=Tsuyoshi |last6=Kato |first6=Nobuo |title=Possible mechanisms underlying the slow lactose fermentation phenotype in Shigella spp |journal=Applied and Environmental Microbiology |volume=57 |issue=10 |pages=2912–7 |year=1991 |doi=10.1128/AEM.57.10.2912-2917.1991 |pmid=1746953 |pmc=183896 |bibcode=1991ApEnM..57.2912I}} They typically do not produce gas from carbohydrates (with the exception of certain strains of S. flexneri) and tend to be overall biochemically inert. Shigella should also be urea hydrolysis negative. When inoculated to a triple sugar iron slant, they react as follows: K/A, gas -, and H₂S -. Indole reactions are mixed, positive and negative, with the exception of S. sonnei, which is always indole negative. Growth on Hektoen enteric agar produces bluish-green colonies for Shigella and bluish-green colonies with black centers for Salmonella.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Prevention

Simple precautions can be taken to prevent getting shigellosis: wash hands before handling food and thoroughly cook all food before eating. The primary prevention methods are improved sanitation and personal and food hygiene, but a low-cost and efficacious vaccine would complement these methods.{{Cite journal |last1=Mani |first1=Sachin |last2=Wierzba |first2=Thomas |last3=Walker |first3=Richard I. |date=2016 |title=Status of vaccine research and development for Shigella |journal=Vaccine |volume=34 |issue=26 |pages=2887–2894 |doi=10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.02.075 |pmid=26979135 |doi-access=free}}

Since shigellosis is spread very quickly among children, keeping infected children out of daycare for 24 hours after their symptoms have disappeared, will decrease the occurrence of shigellosis in daycares.mayo clinic {{cite web |url=http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shigella/basics/prevention/con-20028418 |title=Shigella infection - Symptoms and causes |website=Mayo Clinic |access-date=2015-09-14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906072705/http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shigella/basics/prevention/con-20028418 |archive-date=6 September 2015}}

=Vaccine=

Currently, no licensed vaccine targeting Shigella exists. Several vaccine candidates for Shigella are in various stages of development including live attenuated, conjugate, ribosomal, and proteosome vaccines.{{Cite web |url=https://www.who.int/immunization/research/vaccine_pipeline_tracker_spreadsheet/en/ |title=WHO vaccine pipeline tracker |website=World Health Organization |language=en-GB |access-date=2016-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160725174627/http://who.int/immunization/research/vaccine_pipeline_tracker_spreadsheet/en/ |archive-date=25 July 2016}}{{cite journal |date=14 March 1997 |title=Vaccine Research And Development: New strategies for accelerating Shigella vaccine development |url=https://www.who.int/docstore/wer/pdf/1997/wer7211.pdf |journal=Weekly Epidemiological Record |volume=72 |issue=11 |pages=73–80 |pmid=9115858 |access-date=10 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519182955/http://www.who.int/docstore/wer/pdf/1997/wer7211.pdf |archive-date=19 May 2009}} Shigella has been a longstanding World Health Organization target for vaccine development, and sharp declines in age-specific diarrhea/dysentery attack rates for this pathogen indicate that natural immunity does develop following exposure; thus, vaccination to prevent the disease should be feasible. Shigella species are resistant to many antibiotics, so vaccination is an important part of the strategy to reduce morbidity and mortality.

Treatment

Treatment consists mainly of replacing fluids and salts lost because of diarrhea. Replacement by mouth is satisfactory for most people, but some may need to receive fluids intravenously. Antidiarrheal drugs (such as diphenoxylate or loperamide) may prolong the infection and should not be used.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/ |title=How can Shigella infections be treated? |date=17 January 2019 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |work=Shigellosis: General Information |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208061009/http://www.cdc.gov/shigella/ |archive-date=8 February 2016}}

=Antibiotics=

Antibiotics should only be used in severe cases or for certain populations with mild symptoms (elderly, immunocompromised, food service industry workers, child care workers). For Shigella-associated diarrhea, antibiotics shorten the length of infection,{{cite journal |last2=David |first2=Kirubah V |last3=John |first3=Sushil M |last4=Sankarapandian |first4=Venkatesan |last5=Christopher |first5=Prince RH |year=2010 |title=Antibiotic therapy for Shigella dysentery |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |issue=8 |pages=CD006784 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD006784.pub4 |pmid=20687081 |pmc=6532574 |last1=Christopher |first1=Prince RH|volume=2010 }} but they are usually avoided in mild cases because many Shigella strains are becoming resistant to common antibiotics.{{cite journal |last1=Kahsay |first1=AG |last2=Muthupandian |first2=S |title=A review on Sero diversity and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Shigella species in Africa, Asia and South America, 2001-2014 |journal=BMC Research Notes |date=30 August 2016 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=422 |doi=10.1186/s13104-016-2236-7 |pmid=27576729 |pmc=5004314 |doi-access=free }} Furthermore, effective medications are often in short supply in developing countries, which carry the majority of the disease burden from Shigella. Antidiarrheal agents may worsen the sickness, and should be avoided.{{cite web |title=How can Shigella infections be treated? |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/shigellosis/#treat |work=Shigellosis: General Information |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=11 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211044845/http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/shigellosis/#treat |archive-date=11 February 2012}}

In most cases, the disease resolves within four to eight days without antibiotics. Severe infections may last three to six weeks. Antibiotics, such as trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin may be given when the person is very young or very old, when the disease is severe, or when the risk of the infection spreading to other people is high. Additionally, ampicillin (but not amoxicillin) was effective in treating this disease previously, but now the first choice of drug is pivmecillinam.{{cite book |last=Katzung |first=Bertram G. |title=Basic and Clinical Pharmacology |year=2007 |publisher=McGraw Hill Medical |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-07-145153-6 |pages=733}}

Epidemiology

Insufficient data exist,{{cite journal |last=Ram |first=PK |author2=Crump JA |author3=Gupta SK |author4=Miller MA |author5=Mintz ED |title=Analysis of Data Gaps Pertaining to Shigella Infections in Low and Medium Human Development Index Countries, 1984–2005 |journal=Epidemiology and Infection |year=2008 |volume=136 |issue=5 |pages=577–603 |pmc=2870860 |pmid=17686195 |doi=10.1017/S0950268807009351}} but it is estimated to have caused the death of 34,000 children under the age of five in 2013, and 40,000 deaths in people over five years of age. Shigella also causes about 580,000 cases annually among travelers and military personnel from industrialized countries.{{Cite book |url=http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/69348/1/WHO_IVB_06.01_eng.pdf |title=State of the art of new vaccine research and development |last=World Health Organization |year=2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130219/http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/69348/1/WHO_IVB_06.01_eng.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016}}

An estimated 500,000 cases of shigellosis occur annually in the United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/general-information.html#resistance|title=Shigella – Shigellosis|last=US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|access-date=2016-07-29|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724114503/http://www.cdc.gov/shigella/general-information.html#resistance|archive-date=24 July 2016}} Infants, the elderly, and the critically ill are susceptible to the most severe symptoms of disease, but all humans are susceptible to some degree. Individuals with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are more frequently infected with Shigella.{{cite journal |last1=Angulo |first1=Frederick J. |last2=Swerdlow |first2=David L. |year=1995 |title=Bacterial Enteric Infections in Persons Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus |journal=Clinical Infectious Diseases |volume=21 |issue=Supplement 1 |pages=S84–S93 |doi=10.1093/clinids/21.supplement_1.s84 |pmid=8547518}} Shigellosis is a more common and serious condition in the developing world; fatality rates of shigellosis epidemics in developing countries can be 5–15%.{{cite web |last=Todar |first=Kenneth |title=Shigella and Shigellosis |url=http://textbookofbacteriology.net/Shigella.html |work=Todar's Online Textbook of Bacteriology |access-date=10 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209040938/http://textbookofbacteriology.net/Shigella.html |archive-date=9 February 2012}}

Orthodox Jewish communities (OJCs) are a known risk group for shigellosis; Shigella sonnei is cyclically epidemic in these communities in Israel, with sporadic outbreaks occurring elsewhere among these communities. "Through phylogenetic and genomic analysis, we showed that strains from outbreaks in OJCs outside of Israel are distinct from strains in the general population and relate to a single multidrug-resistant sublineage of S. sonnei that prevails in Israel. Further Bayesian phylogenetic analysis showed that this strain emerged approximately 30 years ago, demonstrating the speed at which antimicrobial drug–resistant pathogens can spread widely through geographically dispersed, but internationally connected, communities."{{cite journal |last=Baker |first=K |display-authors=etal |title=Travel- and Community-Based Transmission of Multidrug-Resistant Shigella sonnei Lineage among International Orthodox Jewish Communities |journal=Emerg Infect Dis |date=September 2016 |volume=22 |issue=9 |doi=10.3201/eid2209.151953 |pmid=27532625 |pmc=4994374 |pages=1545–1553}}

References

External links

[https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/ CDC's Shigellosis Page]
[http://www.path.org/vaccineresources/shigella-etec.php Vaccine Resource Library: Shigellosis and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)]

{{Medical condition classification and resources

| diseasesDB = 12005

| ICD10 = {{ICD10|A|03||a|00}}

| ICD9 = {{ICD9|004}}

| ICDO =

| OMIM =

| MedlinePlus = 000295

| eMedicineSubj = med

| eMedicineTopic = 2112

| MeshID = D004405

}}

Category:Bacterial diseases