Shigellosis outbreak in North Carolina affects more than 60

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My kids have been somewhat spared in the game of preschool illness roulette so far this year – we’ve only battled one case of pink eye. Parents in Cabarrus County, North Carolina have not been so lucky. According to health officials 64 individuals have reported symptoms consistent with shigellosis (with 21 cases confirmed).sickchild

According to WSOC Charlotte, shigella-linked diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps have been linked to schools and workplaces across the county.

Children at Bethel Elementary, where the first cases were reported, are still coming down with the symptoms and parents are on high alert.

“I took precautions and had her tested, but the test hasn’t come back yet,” Sonya Hinson said about her daughter.Health officials said there are 64 people in the county reporting symptoms of shigellosis. So far, 21 of those are confirmed.”There are likely more cases out there,” Clinical Services Director Suzanne Knight said.

Knight said in order for the outbreak to stop, people need to stay at home if they’re sick and not come back to work or school until 48 hours after symptoms stop. Knight said you’ll know if you have shigellosis (these things should be confirmed with a stool sample -ben).

In a 2013 article in Pediatric Infectious Disease, investigators of an outbreak of E. coli O26:H11 linked to a Colorado child care center say that it could have been worse had health authorities hadn’t pushed for cohorting. Part of the strategy was to test every staff member and child for STEC – those who were carrying the bug were separated from those who weren’t. Sixty percent of the kids and staff at the center were carrying the outbreak strain (41 ill – 4 asymptomatically) and health authorities aggressively kept sick folks away until they stopped shedding.

Earlier this year I collaborated with Clemson’s Angie Fraser on a set of USDA NIFA funded food safety and infection factsheets for childcare facilities including using exclusion of ill staff and children as an outbreak control measure. The sheets can be downloaded here and here.

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About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.