10 Shigellosis
https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/index.html
10.1 Epidemiologic Review
10.1.1 Disease Information
Overview: Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by a group of bacteria called Shigella. Shigellosis is very contagious and just a small amount of the bacteria is enough to make someone sick.
Symptoms: Symptoms commonly include diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and stomach cramps. Some individuals may be asymptomatic.
Transmission: The disease is spread person-to-person via the fecal-oral route. Oral-anal sex while symptomatic can spread the disease. Shigella is very contagious and only a small number of bacteria are needed to make someone ill.
Treatment: Treatment is supportive care. Antibiotics are not recommended unless the infection is severe. Anti-diarrheal medications are also not recommended.
Prevention Frequent and proper handwashing with soap can help stop the spread of disease. Avoiding oral-anal sex while sick can also prevent the spread of disease.
10.1.2 Demographics
Rates for <1, 1-4, 5-17, and 65+ years of age are not displayed due low case counts.
Racial demographic data are not presented due to low counts.
| Ethnicity | Rate per 100k |
|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino | 5.4 |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 2.6 |
| Unknown | <5 cases |
Rates for those who identify as Hispanic or Latino are elevated compared to those who do not.
Rates for Unknown Ethnicity are not displayed due to low case counts.
10.1.3 Outbreaks
Five outbreaks of Shigellosis were identified in 2022. All were national outbreaks, meaning that cases from across the country had a common exposure. The most notable national outbreak had a total of 241 cases from 23 jurisdictions (including Salt Lake County), included 14 hospitalizations, and displayed multi-drug resistance.
10.1.4 Monthly and Historical Comparisons
2022 had the second highest number of cases in the last 5 years.
Data for Utah and the CDC were retrieved from the CDC’s Notifiable Infectious Disease Data Tables and were available up until 2020.