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Causes of Shigellosis

Primary Cause of Shigellosis

The primary cause of Shigellosis is the result:

  • of eating food from an animal infected with an infectious agent, or from food that is contaminated from the food handler (who is infected with Shigellosis), or from contaminated soil or water, or from toxins produced by an infectious organism.

Causes of Shigellosis (Diseases Database):

The follow list shows some of the possible medical causes of Shigellosis that are listed by the Diseases Database:

Source: Diseases Database

Shigellosis Causes: Risk Factors

The following conditions have been cited in various sources as potentially causal risk factors related to Shigellosis:

Shigellosis: Related Medical Conditions

To research the causes of Shigellosis, consider researching the causes of these these diseases that may be similar, or associated with Shigellosis:

Shigellosis: Causes and Types

Causes of Types of Shigellosis: Review the cause informationfor the various types of Shigellosis:

Causes of Broader Categories of Shigellosis: Review the causal information about the various more general categories of medical conditions:

What causes Shigellosis?

Causes: Shigellosis: Shigella bacterial infection of the digestive tract.
The disease is caused when virulent Shigella organisms attach to, and penetrate, epithelial cells of the intestinal mucosa. After invasion, they multiply intracellularly, and spread to contiguous epitheleal cells resulting in tissue destruction. Some strains produce enterotoxin and Shiga toxin (very much like the verotoxin of E. coli O157:H7). (Source: FDA Bad Bug Book)
Article excerpts about the causes of Shigellosis:

Foodborne Infections General: DBMD (Excerpt)

Later in food processing, other foodborne microbes can be introduced from infected humans who handle the food, or by cross contamination from some other raw agricultural product.  For example, Shigella bacteria, hepatitis A virus and Norwalk virus can be introduced by the unwashed hands of food handlers who are themselves infected.  In the kitchen, microbes can be transferred from one food to another food by using the same knife, cutting board or other utensil to prepare both without washing the surface or utensil in between.  A food that is fully cooked can become recontaminated if it touches other raw foods or drippings from raw foods that contain pathogens.  (Source: excerpt from Foodborne Infections General: DBMD)

Shigellosis (General): DBMD (Excerpt)

Shigellosis is particularly common and causes recurrent problems in settings where hygiene is poor and can sometimes sweep through entire communities. Shigellosis is more common in summer than winter. Children, especially toddlers aged 2 to 4, are the most likely to get shigellosis. Many cases are related to the spread of illness in child-care settings, and many more are the result of the spread of the illness in families with small children.

In the developing world, shigellosis is far more common and is present in most communities most of the time. (Source: excerpt from Shigellosis (General): DBMD)

Medical news summaries relating to Shigellosis:

The following medical news items are relevant to causes of Shigellosis:

Related information on causes of Shigellosis:

As with all medical conditions, there may be many causal factors. Further relevant information on causes of Shigellosis may be found in:


