What is shigellosis (Shigella infection)?
Shigellosis is an infection cause by Shigella, a group of bacteria. An infected person usually develops diarrhea (often bloody), fever and stomach cramps. Symptoms generally appear one or two days after exposure to the bacterium. Some infected people may have no symptoms at all, but could be contagious. In most cases the patient will recover within five to seven days. Some people, especially young children and the elderly can experience such severe diarrhea that they need to be hospitalized. Children under two who have a severe infection may experience seizures. What is the treatment for shigellosis? It can generally be treated with antibiotics, for example, ampicillin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, nalidixic acid, or ciprofloxacin. The treatment shortens the illness and kills the bacteria that may be present in the patient’s stools. When several people within a community become infected doctors may only treat the more severe cases with antibiotics. This is because Shigella is becomin
