SHIGELLA

SHIGELLA
o Shigella a highly infectious bacteria
100- 200 organisms
o Shigella is one of the most infectious
of bacteria and ingestion of as few as
100- 200 organisms will cause
disease.
o Most individuals are infected with
shigellae when they ingest food or
water contaminated with human fecal
 MORPHOLOGY &
PHYSIOLOGY
o Gram negative bacilli.
o Readily growth O2 + An O2.
o Metabolically active, fermenting a variety
of substrates.
o Mostly non-motile, non sporing, non acid
fast,
o 2-4um x 0.4 -0.6um rounded ends.
o Non-lactose fermenting
o reduce nitrates (NO3 to NO2 or N2)
o are oxidase negative
MORPHOLOGY & PHYSIOLOGY
o Small Gram-negative, facultative
anaerobic, coliform bacillus
o Non-motile (no H antigen)
o Possess capsule (K antigen) and
O antigen
o K antigen not useful in serologic
typing, but can interfere with O
antigen determination
o O antigens: A, B, C, D correspond
respectively to the four species
o Bile salts resistant: trait useful for
selective media ferment glucose
SHIGELLA
Characteristics
• Escherichia with E. coli
• Cause: Bacillary Dysentery
presence of blood, mucus, and
pus in the stool
• Not GI microbiota
• Japanese microbiologist Kiyoshi Shiga
SHIGELLA
Motility (-)
(+) gas from glucose EXCEPT Shigella flexneri
Urease, H2S, LDC (-), Citrate (-)
(-) use of acetate or mucate as carbon source
susceptible to disinfectants & high concentrations of acids
and bile
TAXONOMY
Classification:
- 4 groups or species on the based on difference in O
antigen
and some biochemical reactions

Group A - S. dysenteriae 1-10

Group B - S. flexneri 1-6
Group C - S. boydii 1-15
Group D - S. sonnei 1
 TAXONOMY FAMILY
ENTEROBACTERIACEAE
Shigella dysenteriae: most serious
form of bacillary dysentery
Shigella flexneri: shigellosis in
underdeveloped countries
Shigella sonnei: shigellosis in
developed countries
Shigella boydii
Differentiation into groups (A, B, C, and D)
is based on O antigen serotyping; K
antigens may interfere with serotyping, but
are heat labile.
O antigen is similar to E. coli, so it is
important to ID as Shigella before doing
serotyping.
Virulence factors
Shiga toxin – is produced by S. dysenteriae and in
smaller amounts
by S. flexneri and S.
sonnei.
o Causes shigellosis or bacillary dysentery.
o Transmission is via the fecal-oral route.
o The infective dose required to cause infection is
very low ( organisms).
o There is an incubation of 1-7 days followed by
fever, cramping, abdominal pain, and watery
diarrhea (due to the toxin)for 1-3 days.
o This may be followed by frequent, scant stools
with blood, mucous, and pus (due to invasion of
intestinal mucosa).
o It is rare for the organism to disseminate.
o The severity of the disease depends upon the
 SHIGELLA SONNEI
o Ornithine decarboxylase (+)
o ONPG (+)
o slowly ferments lactose
o MAC: delayed fermentation; pink colonies
on
* MAC only after 48 hours of
incubation can ferment lactose
SHIGELLA
Antigens:
(+) O and K antigen
(-) H antigen

Infections:
dysentery
24 to 48 hours after ingestion of the
organisms
SHIGELLA ANTIMICROBIAL
THERAPY

Sulfonamides are commonly used as are

streptomycin, tetracycline, ampicillin, and
chloramphenicol.

Resistant strains are becoming

increasingly common, so sensitivity
testing is required.