Deadly Shigella bacteria cause Kerala food poisoning cases

Tags: State News

Recently, 58 people became ill after eating food from a dhaba and one girl died. Shigella sonnei bacteria are believed to be the reason behind the incident of suspected food poisoning in Kasaragod district of Kerala.

• Since the test results found the presence of Shigella sonnei bacteria, the water source used for the restaurant will be inspected.

• Steps are being taken to conduct diarrhoea surveys, chlorination of drinking water sources and cleanliness checks at food preparation and distribution centres as part of preventive measures.

• However, the presence of E.coli and coliform bacteria were found in the food samples.

• Testing to check the presence of shigella and salmonella bacteria is under way.

• About Shigella sonnei bacteria

• Shigella sonnei is a species of Shigella.

• Along with Shigella flexneri, it is responsible for 90% of cases of shigellosis.

• Shigella sonnei is named after Danish bacteriologist Karl Olaf Sonne.

• It is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, nonmotile, non-spore forming bacterium.

• Shigella is one of the leading bacterial causes of diarrhoea and intestinal infection worldwide.

• Some common symptoms of Shigella infection include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, fatigue, and blood in the stool.

• It is spread through contaminated food and water and can also be spread by direct contact with faeces from an infected person.