Shigellosis

Abstract

Shigellosis is an acute, infectious, inflammatory enteritis of humans and, on occasion, subhuman primates. Because it is often clinically manifested by the dysentery syndrome (a triad of frequent small-volume bloody-mucoid stools, abdominal cramps, and tenesmus) it is often referred to as bacillary dysentery to distinguish this infection from amoebic dysentery. However, watery diarrhea without blood or mucus is common in infection due to all Shigella species and may be the only clinical manifestation of infection. In addition to these clinical presentations, there are a myriad of non-intestinal manifestations described in shigellosis, some common and some rare, that without doubt qualify the organism as a protean pathogen. The objective of this chapter is to present the salient features of shigellosis in sufficient detail to understand the spectrum of the disease and its distinctive epidemiology. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009.