Food Poisoning (cont.)
What Is Shigella?
Shigella is a bacteria generally transmitted through feces. It causes dysentery, an infection of the intestines causing severe diarrhea. The disease generally occurs in tropical or temperate climates, especially under conditions of crowding, where personal hygiene is poor.
Symptoms include:
- Bloody diarrhea
- Fever
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Cramps
How Is Shigella Diagnosed and Treated?
If you think you may have been exposed to shigella, see your doctor. By testing a sample of your stool, the bacteria can be identified.
People with mild infections usually recover within a few days without special treatment. Drinking fluids to prevent dehydration is usually all that is needed. However, with severe infections, antibiotics and more aggressive treatment to prevent dehydration are often needed.
How Can Shigella Infection Be Prevented?
The shigella bacteria from stools of infected people can be passed to others if hygiene or hand-washing habits are inadequate. To help prevent transmitting the infection, you should always wash your hands thoroughly after using the bathroom or changing diapers.
What Is E. Coli?
E. coli O157:H7 is a growing cause of foodborne illness. An estimated 73,000 cases of these E. coli infections occur in the U.S. every year, according to the CDC.
Most E. coli O157:H7 infections have been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef. Drinking unpasteurized milk and swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water can also cause infection. Bacteria from stools of infected people can be passed to others if less than adequate hygiene or hand-washing habits are present. Young children often continue to shed the organism in their feces for a week or two after their illness resolves.
Symptoms can include severe bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps, but sometimes the infection causes non-bloody diarrhea, a slight fever, or no symptoms at all.
Next: Can E. Coli Infection Cause Serious Health Problems? »
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