Personal Injury Law

School Ending In Wisconsin Did Not Halt Outbreak of Shigella Cases In Racine

     'Shigella used to be very uncommon,' said Dr. William Little, chairman of the Racine Board of Health. 'In all my years of practice I don't remember seeing anything like this.'

If dealing with Swine Flu was not bad enough, Racine, Wisconsin is finding itself with a growing Shigella outbreak.  When Shigella cases first began to be reported in the spring, health officials figured the outbreak would end with the end of the school year.

But, that did not happen.  In May, Racine had 12 confirmed cases of Shigella.  In June, the number rose to 23.

Typically Racine has only has 11 or 12 cases per year of shigella, Teri Hicks, director of community health programs, told the Journal-Times.

Racine health officials are working with the state but have not yet determined a cause for the increase in the number of cases, Hicks said.

'They have noticed it's abnormal,' she said.

Surrounding counties have not experienced the uptick in Shigela cases. There's more in the Racine Journal-Times. 

Full post as published by Shigella Blog on July 15, 2009 (boomark / email).