More and more scientific studies link the effects of the climate crisis with health problems and, specifically, with the worsening of certain diseases: “There is a clear threat of climate change and we must be prepared,” says the microbiologist Filippo J. Sansonetti, from the Pasteur Institute in Paris.
Sansonetti is an expert in Shigella bacteria, the pathogen that causes bacillary dysentery that mainly affects developing countries. Today the United States is the place in the world where all the alarms have sounded.
There, in the last few hours, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the agency that manages the country’s health, have issued a “major public health alert” warning of a nationwide increase in “extremely drug resistant” shigellosis.
The highly contagious bacterial infection of shigella attacks the intestines and causes inflammatory diarrheasometimes bloody, according to the CDC’s “Emergency Response and Preparedness.”
Healthcare professionals “need to understand the nuances of testing and managing infections, especially during treatment patients in higher risk populations from drug-resistant shigellosis, including: young children; gays, bisexuals, and other men who have sex with men; homeless; international travellers; and people living with HIV,” according to new research.
Children under the age of 5, as well as those attending day care and educational facilities and those traveling to places “where food and water may be unsafe and sanitation is poor”, have a additional contracting risk shigellosis infection.
There are some around 450,000 shigellosis infections each year in the United States, generating about $93 million in direct medical costs, according to earlier CDC data provided by the New York Post.
As indicated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the disease has been spreading in the United States since January, however, during the last counted week of Februarythe figures have reached more than 15% of cases, a figure not seen since March 2022.
The presence of this bacterium is mainly found in the feces of infected people.
Contracting the disease is very easy as it can be acquired through contact with food, drink, clothing, toys, contaminated containers and furniture.
That’s why it’s recommended constant hand washing and not to prepare food in case one is sick.
THE symptoms of this stomach disease They are: Fever Stomach pain Diarrhea with or without blood Feeling like having a bowel movement Symptoms can last 5-7 days and usually appear 1-2 days after exposure to the bacteria.
However, the presence of shigella can also remain in the stool of the sufferer up to two weeks after the symptoms have disappeared.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.