Shigella is a bacterium that invades the intestinal tract and causes diarrhea illness called shigellosis, which is very contagious especially among four and five year old children in a child care setting or in school. The disease is spread by human to human transmission through the fecal oral route. Therefore you cannot acquire the shigella bacterium by contact with pets or other animals. The symptoms of shigellosis include diarrhea that can be accompanied with blood and mucous, fever, abdominal cramping, nausea and vomiting.
Fortunately we can prevent the spread of infection with shigella bacterium by washing our hands and by directly supervising the hand washing of young children. The bacteria is passed from one person to another person when hands, food, toys or other objects contaminated with infected stool bacteria are placed in the mouth. It only takes a very small amount of infected stool to cause illness and it may not be visible on the hands or other objects.
Washing hands is the most effective way of preventing the spread of this disease. Good hand washing can get rid of the unseen bacteria. It is important for all childcare providers, children and parents to always wash their hands with soap and running water upon entering the child care center/school, after each bowel movement, after handling items that may be soiled by stool, such as diapers, and before preparing or eating food.
Wash your hands by using both soap and water. Rub your hands together briskly making sure to wash all surfaces including the backs of hands and under fingernails. Rinse well and use a paper towel to turn faucets off. After washing you may want to put lotion on your hands to prevent dry skin.
Anyone with the symptoms of Shigellosis should call their doctor and be evaluated. Providers, food handlers, or children with shigellosis should not return to work or school until a doctor says they no longer have the shigella bacteria. Children with shigellosis should be excluded from the child care/school until they have been on antibiotic therapy for at lease 24 hours and are free of diarrhea.