The illness usually resolves in five to seven days. Individuals with severe diarrhea, especially the very young, the elderly and the immune compromised may need to be hospitalized for rehydration. Shigella infection may be acquired by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. Infected food handlers who do not properly wash hands with soap after using the bathroom may contaminate food. Vegetables can be contaminated if they are harvested in a field with sewage in it.
Flies can breed in infected feces and contaminate food.
Shigella infections can also be acquired by drinking and or swimming in water contaminated by sewage or someone with shigellosis swimming in the water. Handwashing is the most effective measure to prevent the transmission of Shigellosis. Frequent and careful handwashing is important in all age groups. People who have shigellosis should not prepare food for others.