As few as 10 germs reportedly can infect a person, which makes shigella very easy to transmit. Wash hands thoroughly after changing diapers, after using the restroom and before preparing or eating food. Day care centers and group homes should make sure that diapers are not changed where food is prepared and served, Arden said. Any child who has two loose stools within 24 hours should be kept home from day care and should not return until at least 24 hours after diarrhea has stopped. See a doctor if diarrhea continues for more than 24 hours, if the stool becomes bloody or if abdominal pain or fever develop.
Patients normally recover in about a week even without medicine.
Most of the recent cases involved a shigella strain that is resistant to Ampicillin, Arden said, but several other antimicrobial medicines effectively treat the illness.