Shigellosis Outbreak in Travis County

Shigellosis Outbreak in Travis County
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Shigellosis Outbreak in Travis County
The 2016 outbreak article by outbreaknewstoday.com describes the outbreak of Shigella in Austin. The article, Shigella infections prompt health advisory in Austin, reported a 2016 outbreak of Shigellosis that had been caused by high Shigella bacteria levels at Bull Creek District Park (News Desk, 2016). Three cases of Shigellosis had been reported to the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department, prompting the health officials to conduct further analysis. As a result, the health officials warned against swimming of coming into contact with the contaminated water at Bull Creek District Park (News Desk, 2016). The article further reports that infectious disease lasts for four to seven days and the victims develop diarrhea. Apart from diarrhea, a person suffering from Shigella experiences fever and stomach cramps (News Desk, 2016). When a person swallows or gets into contact with the Shigella bacteria, the illness develops within one and three days, and the symptoms manifest.
Shigellosis outbreak is not new in Travis country. The Austin Public Health recorded 2023 cases of the infection between 2008 and 2017 (Austin Public Health, 2018). The number of recorded cases differed every year with 2015 recording the highest cases of 435 cases and 2013 reported 35 cases as the yeast infections within the period.
Source:   Austin Public Health (2018)
   
According to the report by the Austin Public Health (2018), the majority of infections (61 percent) occurred to children below the age of 10 years. Additionally, 54 percent of the infections were reported by females, indicating a higher infection rate among the females. No deaths were reported following the infections, although 231 infected people were hospitalized between 2008 and 2017. The Austin Public Health (2018) report indicates that although the infection is prevalent among children, the reported cases indicated an age range of patients to be between 1 to 85 years.
Source:   Austin Public Health (2018)
Source:   Austin Public Health (2018)
Factors influencing shigellosis epidemiology
* The causal agents: Shigella species
The different species of Shigella bacteria influence Shigella epidemiology. These species include S flexneri, S sonnei, S dysenteriae, and S boydii. According to Kotloff, Riddle, Platts-Mills, Pavlinac & Zaidi ( 2018), S flexneri Shigella species is the leading cause of endemic shigellosis in developing countries contributing to almost 75 percent of all shigellosis infections. S sonnei Shigella species is the second most prevalent bacteria species type in developing countries accounting to up to a quarter of reported infection cases. S sonnei Shigella species is the leading species type contributing to the majority of infections in high-income countries (Kotloff, Riddle, Platts-Mills, Pavlinac & Zaidi, 2018). S sonnei species dominance in a population is proportional to the economic development within the population.
*  Environmental Factors:  Reservoirs And Transmission
Humans are the only natural host for Shigella bacteria. The predominant mode of transmission between one infected person to other people is through fecal-oral contact. Poor sanitation and unhygienic conditions are favorable for the transmission of shigellosis between people. Kotloff, Riddle, Platts-Mills, Pavlinac & Zaidi (2018) note that poor sanitation and unhygienic conditions exposed to young children at childcare and school facilities contribute to the majority of infections in the US. The infected childcare centers serve as reservoirs for infections with further infection cases (33 percent) are associated with the household environment. Khan (1982) contends that unhygienic conditions contribute to the spread of the infection. Water and food infections are less common. However, infected foods and water can cause mass infections through person to person contact (Kotloff, Riddle, Platts-Mills, Pavlinac & Zaidi, 2018). Houseflies ...