DYSENTERY EPIDEMIC

BM HAMOOYA
 Introduction
• Diarrheal cases are of public health importance

• Mostly affecting children and those who are immune

compromised

• Dysentery is a bloody diarrhea

• Dysentery is most often caused by Shigella species or Entamoeba
histolytica 

• Dysentery is characterized by;

• Inflammation of the intestine
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea- blood an mucus
• Dysentery cause a significant number of death among young children
in resources constrained settings

• Two types of dysentery:

• 1. Bacillary- because it is caused by bacteria
• 2. Amebic- because it is caused by amoebas
 Bacillary dysentery
• Is caused by bacilli of the genus shigella

• Disease ranges from mild to severe and it occurs suddenly death due
to dehydration and poisoning by bacterial toxins

• Incubation is usually from 1 to 6 days

• Signs and symptoms
• Fever
• Watery stool stained with blood
• Vomiting sometimes
• Dehydration
• Ulceration of the large intestine causes the production of bloody stools
• Other bacteria that cause bloody diarrhea include;
• Salmonella
• Campylobacter
 Amebic dysentery
• It is also called intestinal amebiasis

• Caused by a protozoan Entamoeba Hystolytica

• Mostly occurs in tropics

 Amebic dysentery
• It is more chronic and difficult to treat than bacillary disease

• Difficult to treat because it occurs in two forms

• 1. motile
• 2. cyst
• Note: each produces disease course
 Transmission of dysentery
• Ingestion of contaminated;
• Food
• Water
• Primitive sanitary facilities increase the risk of the disease
 Prevention
• Boiling water

• Proper dispose of human wastes to avoid contamination with

food and water
 Epidemiology of dysentery
• Dysentery is a water-borne disease disease just like cholera

•  A four-year epidemic in Central America in 1968, resulted in more than 500,000

cases and more than 20,000 deaths.
• Since 1991, dysentery epidemics have occurred in eight countries in southern
Africa (Angola, Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zaire, and
Zambia).
• Epidemic dysentery is a major problem among refugee populations, where
overcrowding and poor sanitation facilitate transmission.

• Epidemics are characterized by severe disease, high death rates, person-

to-person spread, and multiple antibiotic resistance

• Worldwide, approximately 140 million people develop dysentery per year,

and about 600,000 die. 
• Most of the deaths occur in developing countries among
children under age five.

• In the United States, only about 25,000 to 30,000 cases occur

each year.
• Most common cause of bloody diarrhea is bacterium called Shigella
• Ingesting as few as 10 to 100 bacteria, which can be contained in
a tiny amount of infected food or water, can cause disease.
• Amoebic dysentery is prevalent in regions where human excrement is used as
fertilizer
 Diagnosing Dysentery

• Dysentery is diagnosed from rectal swabs (or stool sample) that

show evidence of:
• Shigella bacteria
• or amoeba
 Eradicating the Epidemic

• Distribute soap.
• Provide clean water.
• Promote hand-washing before eating or preparing food and
after defecation.
• Install and maintain proper sewage systems or treatment
facilities.
 management of Dysentery

• Bacterial dysentery often subsides by itself, although treatment using

antibiotics is recommended to prevent recurrence
• Drug-susceptibility tests should always be performed before
beginning treatment due to drug resistant to many organisms which is
prevalent
• Shigella was first identified to be resistant in several classes of drugs
in.
• Treating the dehydration that accompanies dysentery is also important