Wetin be shigella and why e dey infect Israeli troops wey dey fight inside Gaza

Doctors for Israel say some of di kontri troops wey dey for Gaza dey suffer from one serious stomach disease wey dem call "shigella".

Dem dey reason say di disease dey spread sake of poor sanitary conditions and unsafe food for di warzone.

How shigella don spread among Israeli troops?

Doctors for di Israel Defence Forces (IDF) don report serious bowel illness among troops wey dey serve for Gaza, according to Dr Tal Brosh, director of di Infectious Diseases Unit for Assuta Ashdod University Hospital.

E tok say e sabi di disease as shigella.

Soldiers wey get infection dey isolated and dem send dem back for treatment.

Dr Broch say one "clear cause" of di outbreak na food wey Israeli civilians cook and send to troops for Gaza.

E say di food fit don dey contaminated wit shigella, and oda harmful bacteria, sake of e no chill during transportation, or from say dem no fully reheat am bifo dem chop am.

"Once soldiers develop diarrhoea, [di] poor sanitary conditions wey dey basic for battlefield lead to pesin-to-pesin transmission," e tok.

Dr Broch say make pipo only dey send food items like canned food, crackers, protein bars and nuts to troops.

Wetin be shigella, and wetin be im symptoms?

Shigella na one strain of bacteria. Wen e enta inside di bodi, e dey causes one kain dysentery wey dem call "shigellosis".

Im symptoms na:

• fever

• bloody or prolong diarrhoea

• serious stomach cramping or tenderness

• dehydration

Pipo wey get poor health, or wey dia immune systems dey weak from diseases like HIV, fit suffer from dis symptoms for long time.

If e no dey treated, shigella fit cause serious sickness, or even death.

Di risk of death dey particularly high once di bacteria enter di bloodstream. Children, those wey get HIV, diabetes or cancer, and those wey dey malnourished dey very vulnerable.

How shigella dey spread?

According to di US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), shigella dey spread "easily" through direct or indirect contact wit any infected pesin poopoo.

Dis fit happun if:

• chop food wey pesin wit shigella prepare

• drink water wey dey contaminated wit sewage

• contact wit lavatory parts or oda items wey dey contaminated wit shigella by infected pesin

• change nappies of pikin wey get shigella

• get contact wit poopoo during sex wit infected pesin

Shigella often dey among homeless pipo, international travellers, men wey get sex wit men, and those wey dia bodi get low level of immunity.

Wia for di world wey shigella dey most common?

Di CDC estimate say e get between 80 and 165 million cases of shigella evri year across di world, e dey lead to 600,000 deaths.

For 2022, di WHO say 99% of shigella infections dey low or middle income kontries.

Most deaths from shigella dey shelle for sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and about 60% dey among under-fives.

One study by science sabi pipo for di International Vaccine Institute for South Korea suggest say shigellosis dey hundred times more common for Asian kontries like Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand dan for industrialised kontries.

How shigella fit dey treated, or prevented?

Di CDC tok say shigella fit dey prevented by time to time hand washing, for example:

• bifo cooking or eating

• afta going to toilet or changing nappy

• bifo sexual activity

Many cases fit dey treated by drinking plenti water and resting.

Five types of antibiotics dey effective against di disease.

However, US health officials don sabi one strain of shigella bacteria wey dey resistant to antibiotics, dem call am Shigella XDR or Shigella sonnei.

Di CDC tok say for 2022, five percent of shigella cases for di US bin link to di drug-resistant strain. E don call dis "serious public health gbege".

Di WHO don also notice increase for di number of cases wey link to di XDR strain for Britain and across Europe since 2020.