Shigella cases reported in Linn County

CEDAR RAPIDS — Public health officials are investigating a cluster of Shigellosis cases in Linn County, officials said Thursday.

Shigellosis is a bacterial disease, which causes watery and sometimes bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms include diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps.

'It's a very, very hearty bacteria,' said Heather Meador, a nurse with Linn County Public Health. 'It can live for months on a hard surface.'

There are about 150 confirmed or suspected Shigella cases in Linn County, Meador said.

The cases are thought to be the result of person-to-person contact. Any infected person can infect others by failing to properly wash their hands before handling food or coming into close contact with another person, the health department said.

Meador said infections can spread quickly through households, preschools and senior living facilities.

'It takes only a very small amount of the bacteria to make someone ill,' she said

Shigellosis is an extremely contagious disease, the health department said. Because of this, it recommends individuals thoroughly and frequently wash hands after changing diapers, or before eating or preparing food.

'People also need to stay home, we don't want this to be spreading around,' Meador said.

Shigellosis typically goes away without treatment after four to seven days, but if the infection is severe or the infected person has a poor immune system, antibiotic treatment may be needed, the health department said.

Health care workers, food service workers and child care workers will need negative stool samples before returning to work, and Meador said these workers may also want to take antibiotics.

Meador said that it is fairly common for enteric infections, or intestinal diseases, to spread during the summer as people are typically more social this time of year, pointing to the cyclospora outbreak in 2013 as another example.