Shigellosis – everything you need to know about the contagious bug that could hit this autumn
The highly contagious infection causes vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea, fever and stomach cramps
DOCTORS are urging people to watch out for the symptoms of a nasty vomiting bug as the colder months set in.
As people come back from the summer holidays cases of shigellosis, which is caught from other people’s poo, tend to rise.
The highly contagious infection, which is triggered by the bug shigella, also causes diarrhoea, nausea, fever and stomach cramps.
It can spread quickly through schools and the workplace, so it’s important to know the signs.
Shigella is passed on through direct contact with the bug poo particles – yes, that means ingesting someone else’s poo particles. As grim as it sounds, it’s far more common than you think.
If an infected person goes to the toilet and doesn’t wash their hands properly it can spread the bug.
While there is no specific time of year when shigellosis is rife in the UK, as more people head home after the summer holidays experts warn there could be a rise in cases – picked up abroad.
“It’s not terribly prevalent in the UK, in my experience it tends to come back more from people who have caught it abroad than anything else,” Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical director of , told The Sun Online.
“It is very, very easy to catch so you do need to be really, really careful about washing your hands and so on.
“Quite a lot of people who have shigella don’t have any symptoms at all, so they can still pass it on even though they feel well.
“So it just reminds you that, even if you feel well, that you still need to wash your hands a lot.
“If you are going abroad we always say peel it, boil it, cook it or forget it [your food], and that includes ice – choose bottled water not tapped water.”
If you have a shigella infection you will experience diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and pain and vomiting.
HOW CAN YOU AVOID THE NASTY BUG?
Good personal hygiene is the best way to avoid shigella.
According to the NHS you should:
- wash your hands with soap and warm water after using the toilet and regularly throughout the day
- washing your hands before handling, eating or cooking food
- avoiding sharing towels
- washing the laundry of an infected person on the hottest setting possible
The symptoms to watch out for:
Symptoms include diarrhoea containing blood or mucus, nausea and vomiting.
You will also notice stomach cramps and pains, and high temperatures.
These symptoms usually start around two to five days after infection.
Make sure you drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration, and visit a doctor to see if antibiotics are required.
Paracetamol and ibuprofen can be used to ease headaches and high temperatures.
GPs should be notified if a child starts developing shigellosis symptoms.
Children who have contracted the bug should stay at home for at least five days until tests show they are clear.
Adults should stay away from work, school or college for at least 48 hours until the last vomiting or diarrhoea episode, avoiding contact with others as much as possible during this time.
In severe cases it can develop into dysentery, an infection of the intestine.
“Occasionally antibiotics are needed, especially when people have very severe symptoms like blood in the diarrhoea,” Sarah said.
“That’s particularly important because dysentery is much worse.
“Normally when people have tummy bugs they will have diarrhoea and vomiting, but with dysentery you’ll often have blood in it or mucus in it.”
Dr David Kirrage, consultant with PHE West Midlands Health Protection Team, said: “People who have had diarrhoea should stay away from work or school until they have been free of symptoms for 48 hours.
“If Shigella is suspected, (they) should not return to school or work until stool samples have been tested and results show samples are free from the infection.”
A PHE spokesman told The Sun Online: “We routinely monitor all reports of gastrointestinal infections so as to be able to detect and rapidly respond to any outbreaks of disease.”
There are around 1,800 cases of shigella in the UK every year.
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