Shigella infection: Treatment and prevention in children

Shigella infection is characterized by high fever (> 38.5 C [101.3 F]), abdominal cramps, diarrhea, tenesmus, and polymorphonuclear leukocytes on a methylene blue stain of the stool; extraintestinal manifestations and complications also occur (table 1)[1, 2]. Definitive diagnosis requires a stool culture or a polymerase chain reaction assay. The characteristic small-volume, bloody/mucous stools are present in approximately one-half of the children with shigellosis [1]. Neonates [3] and children with underlying immune deficiency (including …