Shigella outbreaks have been reported in Texas, South Dakota and Indiana. Shigella is a bacteria often found in water contaminated by human feces.
Health authorities say people with diarrhea should not got to work, especially if they work with food, and should not go swimming. Hand washing is the best way to prevent the spread of bacteria.
“Every person who uses the pool has a responsibility to maintain a healthy swimming environment,” said Indiana State Health Commissioner William VanNess, M.D. “Swimmers should stay out of the pool if ill or recently ill, especially with diarrhea. This includes children wearing swim diapers, as swim diapers are not waterproof.”
The Indiana outbreak includes at least five counties: Marion, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks and Johnson. Symptoms of a Shigella infection, called shigellosis, usually develop 24 to 72 hours after exposure and include abdominal cramping, fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Illness lasts four to seven days.
In South Dakota, where only 11 cases of shigellosis were reported during 2012, 313 cases in 22 counties have been reported so far this this year. One county, Shannon, accounts for more than half of those with 174 cases. In Todd County, 41 cases have been reported. Pennington County has 27 cases.
In Texas, the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District repots 154 cases of shigellosis. Young children are at special risk as high fevers can cause seizures in children under 2.
In May, a Shigella outbreak sickened 55 people in St Louis and in March more than 100 people in Miami-Dade County, Florida were sickened with shigellosis.
