A Shigella case was reported by a hospital in central Taiwan on March 17, 2009. This case is a 72-year-old lady who has been suffering from watery stool, fever and abdomen pain since March 10.Her symptoms were not relieved after visiting a local clinic.She went to a hospital for advanced treatment, where she was diagnosed and confirmed as a case of shigellosis (subgroup B 2a).According to the investigation, it is possible that her 32-year-old grandson became infected while working abroad in Cambodia and spread the disease to his family members after returning to Taiwan. Her son, 52 years old, also became infected at the same time. Taiwan CDC urges the public to pay attention to food and water hygiene while traveling overseas to prevent infectious diseases.

According to the investigation conducted by the local health department, the case’s grandson worked in Cambodia from late February to early March. He subsequently developed symptoms of diarrhea and abdominal pain on February 28. The son of the case had also experienced symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal pain from March 12 to March17, and his specimen was confirmed as shigellosis (subgroup B 2a), which shared high degree of similarity in gene arrangement when compared with other imported strains from Cambodia, suggesting that the family was possibly infected by imported cases.

The incubation period of shigellosis can range from 12 to 96 hours, but sometimes it may be up to one week.The typical symptoms of shigellosis include diarrhea, fever, vomiting, cramp, and bloody stool, but some people may even experience mild or no symptoms.The mode of transmission is mainly through direct or indirect fecal-oral transmission from a symptomatic patient or a short-term asymptomatic carrier.The infection may occur after ingesting contaminated food or water.Taiwan CDC would like to remind the public to take care of their health by taking the following precautious measures: do not ingest raw food and water or buy non-hygienic food, wash hands before any meals, and maintain good personal hygiene. If illness occurs upon returning to the home country, please contact the quarantine staff at the airport immediately, seek medical attention as soon as possible, and inform the doctor of the recent travel history.

For more information about control of shigellosis, please visit the Taiwan CDC web site at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or dial the toll-free hotline, 1922, operated by Taiwan CDC.