Dangerous shigella outbreak affects two orphanages

SANTIAGO.– 12 children and one employee of the "Remolino" Preschool Diagnostic Center (CPE) of the National Service of Minors (Sename) were infected with the risky shigellosis bacteria in an outbreak that took place at the beginning of January in the Municipality of Conchalí.

The illness causes fever, bloody diarrhea, heavy mucus, vomiting and convulsions. Patients must be treated by a physician due to the high risk of dehydration and because the infection can last for over two weeks.

Of the 25 children who live at the center, 12 of them came down with the illness. Currently, only six of the minors are still separated from the rest of the children and being treated with antibiotics.

The Secretary General of the Municipal Corporation for Education, Health and Minors of Conchalí, Doctor Beatriz Bueno, assured that nearly 40 medical exams were conducted at "Remolino" to determine who was infected. Of these, only 12 children and one adult tested positive.

The epidemiologist of the Metropolitan Department of Health, Doctor Sergio Alcayaga, acknowledged that over the last two months there has been a shigelosis outbreak centered in Santiago.

The illness is transmitted through the ingestion of feces in food or in contaminated water. It can also be harbored in fruits and vegetables and is often the result of a lack of personal hygiene, especially with respect to hand-washing.