Shigella

Shigella is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria that causes shigellosis, an intestinal infection spread mainly through contaminated food, water, or direct contact.

Shigellosis: Shigellosis is an intestinal infection caused by Shigella bacteria, often marked by diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. This is the disease Shigella causes after transmission and infection.
Gram-negative bacteria: Bacteria with a thin peptidoglycan layer and an outer membrane that stain pink in the Gram stain. Shigella belongs to this bacterial group and has its characteristic outer membrane.
Stool culture: A laboratory test that grows microorganisms from a stool sample to identify intestinal infection. Culture can identify Shigella and support antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
Kiyoshi Shiga: A Japanese physician and bacteriologist who identified the dysentery bacillus later associated with Shigella dysenteriae. Shiga's 1897 discovery established the organism that gave the genus its name.
Fecal–oral route: Transmission in which pathogens from feces reach another person's mouth through hands, food, water, or surfaces. This is the main route by which Shigella passes between hosts.
Type III secretion system: A protein-injection apparatus that enables some bacteria to deliver effector proteins into host cells. Shigella uses this apparatus to enter intestinal cells and alter their behavior.
Enterobacterales: An order of mostly Gram-negative bacteria that includes many intestinal species and important pathogens. Shigella sits within this order alongside related enteric bacteria.
Polymerase chain reaction: A laboratory method that amplifies specific DNA sequences for detection and analysis. Molecular tests can detect Shigella genetic material in stool.
Shigella dysenteriae: A Shigella species that includes type 1, the producer of Shiga toxin associated with severe dysentery. This species was central to the original identification of the dysentery bacillus.
Waterborne disease: Illness caused by pathogens transmitted through contaminated water. Unsafe water can spread Shigella where sanitation systems fail.

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