Determine the Symptoms of Shigellosis
Symptoms: Pathogenicity involves the release of lipopolysaccharide endotoxin, which infects the intestinal mucosa. Shigellosis ranges from fairly mild to very severe and fatal. The onset is usually abrupt, requiring from 1-7 days of incubation, but sometimes requiring as many as 14 days. Symptoms are abdominal pain and cramps caused by inflammation of mucus surface of large intestine, nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting and elevated temperature. The mortality associated with S. dysenteriae infection is around 20% but it is much lower with other species. In severe instances, excessive diarrhoea leads to electrolytic imbalance in the bloodstream and ulceration in large intestine. There may be kidney failure, jaundice and persistent internal bleeding. The infection is localized and organs other than the large intestine are not invaded.