KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Shigella, causing shigellosis, spreads through poor food safety practices and can be combated with proper hygiene and food handling procedures.
- It’s crucial for food providers, childcare, and nursing home workers to follow guidelines on hand-washing and food safety to prevent outbreaks.
- Personal prevention measures include washing hands thoroughly, avoiding swallowing water in contaminated sources, and practicing safe food preparation and consumption, especially while traveling.
Some Shigella outbreaks are caused by poor food safety measures in restaurants, food distribution centers, or other actors in the food supply chain. Outbreaks can also occur when people don’t take proper precautions at home. If you contract shigellosis due to someone else’s negligence, you may be able to pursue compensation through a lawsuit.
What Causes Shigella?
Shigella is a group of bacteria that causes illness in humans and other primates. There are several types, with Shigella sonnei being the most prevalent in the United States. Ingesting Shigella causes shigellosis, which can lead to symptoms ranging from mild to life-threatening.
About 450,000 people in the United States contract shigellosis each year. However, many shigellosis cases go unreported because the symptoms sometimes resemble the flu. Older adults, young children, and immunocompromised individuals are most susceptible to shigellosis.
Most people show symptoms within one to two days after exposure and experience them for five to seven days. In more severe cases, shigellosis can last a month or longer. Common symptoms include:
- Fever
- Stomach pain
- Bloody diarrhea
- Dehydration
- Feeling a need to pass stool even when the bowels are empty
- Joint pain, painful urination, eye irritation, and reactive arthritis in more severe cases
How Does Shigella Spread?
Fewer than 100 Shigella bacteria are needed to make someone sick. Common sources of Shigella outbreaks include:
- Person-to-Person Contact – Shigella can spread from person to person, particularly in situations where hygiene is poor. This can happen through direct contact with an infected person's feces or through indirect contact by touching surfaces or objects contaminated with the bacteria.
- Foodborne Transmission – Consuming food that has been prepared by an infected person who didn't properly wash their hands after using the restroom can lead to Shigella infection. Additionally, foods such as raw produce harvested from contaminated sources can also transmit the bacteria if not properly washed or cooked.
- Waterborne Transmission – Contaminated water sources, such as lakes, rivers, or improperly treated swimming pools, can harbor Shigella bacteria. Drinking or swimming in contaminated water can lead to infection.
Common places where Shigella easily spreads include:
- Daycare settings
- Schools
- Restaurants
- Catered events
- Care facilities in which workers help clean patients
- Infected recreational water areas or places with untreated water supplies
Shigella bacteria can spread for weeks after symptoms disappear. Protecting yourself and others during this extended period is essential to help prevent an outbreak.
How Can Food Providers and Other Businesses Prevent Shigella From Spreading?
All people potentially exposed to Shigella or who work with food should follow the CDC’s five steps for proper hand-washing. The CDC also publishes other health promotion materials encouraging children and adults to make hand-washing a priority and part of their regular routine.
Childcare Facilities and Nursing Homes
Children under the age of five are more likely to contract shigellosis. It then easily spreads to others, especially other young children who are more likely to put their hands in their mouths.
All workers in childcare and educational facilities should have training to help prevent and control shigellosis. For example, they should maintain separate diaper-changing and eating areas. If possible, workers shouldn’t hold simultaneous childcare and food preparation roles.
In nursing homes and other adult care facilities, employees who help residents go to the bathroom or handle clothes with feces should wash their hands frequently and thoroughly. Facilities must also follow state and federal regulations when washing sheets, blankets, and other items. Food should be prepared in areas separate from living spaces.
Food Handling and Preparation Facilities
Businesses that handle food and beverages should take extra precautions to prevent shigellosis. For example, restaurants and catering companies should educate employees about shigellosis and train them on proper hygiene practices.
Workers must also learn proper food handling and safety practices, such as using gloves, tongs, or other utensils. Employees must tell their managers when they experience symptoms to help prevent shigellosis. Employers should in turn encourage sick workers to stay home.
Food processing plants and restaurants should ensure that employees follow the FDA Food Code to help prevent the spread of shigellosis and other illnesses. Fecal particles spread after bathroom use are a significant source of pathogens. The Food Code requires nail trimming and filing to help prevent bacterial buildup and potential spread.
Jewelry and other accessories can also serve as collection points for bacteria. Accordingly, workers should not wear hand or wrist jewelry while preparing food.
How Can I Prevent Shigellosis?
If you care for children who use diapers, change them as far away from food as possible. Discard used diapers in lined trash bins with lids. Safety practices regarding hand-washing also apply at home. Do not touch surfaces after changing a diaper until your hands are properly washed. To help further prevent the spread of germs, dress your child over their diapers.
Other ways to prevent shigellosis at home include thoroughly washing and cooking food to the proper internal temperature. Avoid swallowing water in ponds, lakes, or pools. If possible, keep people with shigellosis away from others and wash thoroughly after caring for them. If your partner is recovering from an infection, wait at least one week before engaging in sexual activity.
When traveling overseas, it is essential to take precautions against shigellosis. Due to varying sanitary practices and water treatment methods abroad, Shigella is more common in some destinations, and some strains are more deadly than others. If possible, avoid eating raw fruits and vegetables, purchasing food from street vendors, drinking tap water, using ice made from tap water, and consuming unpasteurized milk or dairy products while traveling. As always, wash your hands often with soap and water.
