The Arkansas Department of Health has seen a surge of shigellosis cases this summer that have caused localized outbreaks throughout the state, according to officials.
There have been 568 cases of shigellosis reported to the department since Jan. 1, according to data from the department. On average, there have been 173 cases of shigellosis annually in the past five years in the state.
"We have had a dramatic increase in the number of shigella cases," Gary Wheeler, Arkansas Health Department branch chief of infectious diseases, said. "This is not unique to Arkansas. Many states around the country have noticed the same increase."
Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by the shigella bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness causes diarrhea that is often bloody along with fever and stomach cramps. High fevers from the disease may cause seizures in children younger than 2 years old. It typically lasts for five to seven days.
Wheeler said some people who contract the disease need to be hospitalized. He said about 10 percent to 15 percent of reported cases require hospitalization. Dehydration caused by the illness is often what requires the hospital stay.
An outbreak of shigella at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. headquarters in Bentonville last month possibly caused 213 illnesses, according to data from the Health Department. Only 45 of the cases were confirmed. The illness was spread through food served at the headquarters' food court.
Wheeler said the Wal-Mart case is an exception to how the disease typically spreads. He said most of the localized outbreaks are in day care facilities or assisted living facilities.
"A lot of times these diseases are introduced by an adult that is not doing good hand hygiene," Wheeler said.
The shigella is passed from stool or soiled fingers to other people, according to the CDC.
Anna Bowen, CDC Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch medical officer, said hand washing is the best way to avoid spreading the disease.
"For people who have young children or change diapers, be very careful when handling those materials," Bowen said.
It takes as few as 10 germs to cause the illness, Bowen said. She said some other illnesses need more than 100,000 germs to spread.
Bowen said the disease can also be spread by water. She said outbreaks can happen after the bacteria are exposed to lakes or other noncholorinated bodies of water. She said those who know they have the disease should avoid swimming.
There are about 14,000 cases of shigellosis reported in the United States annually, according to CDC data. However, it is suspected the number could be higher because of underreporting of the disease.
Bowen said the reporting system for shigellosis to the CDC is delayed and that it is impossible to see whether there is an overall national uptick at this time.
The disease tends to cause large outbreaks in regional areas every five-seven years, Bowen said. She said officials are unsure why the outbreaks tend to come in waves. However, she said it is suspected that those who get the disease form an immunity and that the immunity makes it harder for the disease to spread in populations.
For example, a group of children at a day care center could catch the disease and develop an immunity, Bowen said. Over several years, the children age out of the day care center. A new set of children entering the center would not have the immunity. The disease would then be able to cause another outbreak, Bowen said.
Arkansas officials hope to learn how antibiotics are working on the infection in future months, Wheeler said. He said the disease typically does not need antibiotics except for severe cases. However, he said there have been reports that the disease is becoming immune to certain antibiotics in other parts of the country.
Wheeler said disease mutates from region to region. He said that in a few months, the state should be able to determine whether any strains of the disease found in Arkansas are antibiotic-resistant.
Metro on 07/09/2014