The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) continues to investigate a spike in cases of Shigella sonnei that affect Lea and Eddy counties. To date, the cases now total 71, the majority of which are children associated with child care centers and their family members.
Shigellosis is a bacterial disease characterized by diarrhea, fever, nausea, and sometimes vomiting, cramps, and toxemia (blood poisoning from toxins produced by the bacteria). Diarrhea will often contain blood and mucus. The time between exposure to Shigellosis and symptom onset varies from 1 to 7 days, but is typically 1-3 days. Possible complications from Shigellosis infections include post-infectious arthritis, blood stream infections (although rare), seizures, and hemolytic-uremic syndrome or HUS.
Shigellosis is very contagious. An infected person can shed the bacteria in their stool when they have diarrhea and up to a month after the diarrhea has gone away. Shigellosis can be spread by:
- Infected persons can spread Shigellosis by not washing their hands after going to the bathroom and then handling food that other people will eat.
- Caretakers can become infected by changing the diaper of an infected child or caring for an infected person. The caretaker’s hands may get some small amount of stool and bacteria on their hands, and without proper hand hygiene, spread the bacteria to everything they touch afterwards (including their mouths).
- Swallowing recreational water (for example a splash pad, pool, and/or lake) that was contaminated by infected fecal matter.
- Exposure to feces through sexual contact.
“If your child is sick, please do not take your child to daycare or the local pool and splash pad. This will only spread this illness to other children and their families,” advises Lynn Gallagher, Secretary of Health. “If you think that your child may have Shigellosis, please take your child to their healthcare provider to be tested.”
You can decrease your chance of coming into contact with Shigellosis by doing the following:
- Washing your hands frequently, especially after using the bathroom, changing a diaper, or before preparing and/or eating food.
- Promptly cleaning possible contaminated surfaces with household chlorine bleach-based cleaners.
- Washing soiled clothing and linens.
- Avoiding food or water from sources that may be contaminated.
- Not sending sick children to school, daycare, or local pool and splash pads if they have persistent diarrhea.
Additional information on Shigellosis is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/shigella/index.html.
(News release from the New Mexico Department of Health)
