Shigellosis is an infection of the stomach and intestine that occurs when Shigella bacteria grow in the large intestine. Another name for shigellosis is bacillary dysentery. Shigellosis can be a problem where sanitation is poor and large groups of people, including carriers of the disease, are crowded together. It is becoming increasingly common in day care centers and homosexual populations. Carriers may or may not have symptoms.
Flies can also spread the disease.
Attacks of shigellosis are sudden and severe after the incubation period, which is 12 to 72 hours. The incubation period is the time between the invasion of the body by the bacteria and the first appearance of symptoms. To diagnose shigellosis, the doctor will review your symptoms, examine you, and often take a sample of your feces for lab testing. The doctor may prescribe an antibiotic, but mild infections will clear without antibiotics. If the doctor does prescribe antibiotics, it is important to take the full prescription or the infection may return and be more difficult to treat.