Personal Injury Law

Peoria Reports Uptick in Shigella Cases

If something will "Play in Peoria," it usually means that the rest of the country won't be far behind.  Let's hope that's not true this time, however, as Peoria is experiencing a worrisome uptick  in its reported cases of shigella.

Frank Radosevich II, writing in the Peoria Jounral Star, drills down on the numbers:

Randall McClallen, communicable disease coordinator, said the department fields between 20 to 30 reported cases each year. In the past three to four months, however, about 60 cases have been reported, though not all of the cases have been confirmed. So far, no definite connection has been found between the cases.

"They haven't been linked to any one specific place," McClallen said. "It's been across all age groups. It's just been here and there."

So far, counties surrounding Peoria are not experiencing the outbreak of shigella cases.  Woodford County hasn't had any cases this year or last, and Tazewell County has seen four cases this year compared to one in 2007, local health officials said.

Typically there are about 1,300 shigella cases in Illinois each year, and about 18,000 in the United States.  For the complete Peoria Journal Star story, go here.

Full post as published by Shigella Blog on February 04, 2008 (boomark / email).