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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffDifferent types of shigella bacteria cause shigellosis. Subgroup D shigella (Shigella sonnei) causes more than two-thirds of shigellosis in the United States, with subgroup B (Shigella flexneri) accounting for most of the rest. The bacteria penetrate the lining of your intestine, causing swelling and possibly causing sores to develop.
Poor hygiene and inadequate hand washing can cause shigella to spread from an infected person. Toddlers in the process of toilet training may contract shigellosis, and then pass it to family members and playmates.
Eating contaminated food can cause shigellosis. Food that looks and smells normal may become contaminated as a result of:
- Handling by an infected person who fails to wash adequately after using the toilet
- Growing in a field that contains sewage
- Coming into contact with flies that breed in infected feces
Drinking water infected with shigella or swimming in infected water can cause shigellosis as well. Water may become contaminated either from sewage or from a person with shigella infection swimming in it.
In developing nations, some types of the shigella germ can cause deadly epidemics.
