A few days after the Nipah virus scare subsided in Kerala, the death of four people due to the Shigella infection has panicked the residents of the state.
The latest victim of the injection is a two-year-old boy named Ziyan. The toddler, who hailed from Thamarassery was rushed to a private hospital following diarrhoea on July 18 and was later shifted to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, where he died on Monday (July 23).
What is Shigella infection?
Shigella infection (shigellosis) is an intestinal disease caused by a family of bacteria known as shigella. One can catch the infection if they come in contact with infected people or consume contaminated food, water.
Symptoms
The symptoms might take up to a week to develop. The main sign of shigella infection is diarrhoea, which is often bloody or has mucous. The other symptoms are abdominal pain or cramps, fever and bloating.
Young children might also get seizures.
Risk factor
According to doctors, though there is no reason to panic about the infection, it is advisable to take precautions as it is highly contagious.
"Shigella is a diarrheal disease and is highly contagious. It mostly affects children under the age of 5," The News Minute quoted Dr Jayashree Kozhikode DMO as saying.
Precautions against Shigella
As precautions, people have been advised to adopt appropriate food and water hygiene measures, washing their hands and following routine hygiene measures. Doctors have also advised people to drink boiled water.
According to Dr Reena KJ, people should stop keeping both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food together in the refrigerator. Besides advising people to keep food separately, she also said that stale food should not be consumed.
Soiled diapers should be disposed of properly and people employed with child care centres should wash their hands thoroughly.
Treatment
According to a website called medicine.net Bismuth subsalicylate that is Pepto-Bismol is helpful. The other medicines that people can opt for are powerful antibiotic like Azithromycin (Zithromax), Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (Bactrim), reported Healthline.
If one notices the symptoms of Shigella, they are advised to visit the doctors for proper treatment.
