Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

Prevention

Information on Shigella Prevention for Your Family
The following information about the symptoms of Shigella poisoning is provided by Pritzker | Olsen, P.A. Attorney Fred Pritzker has a national reputation for his work in the area of foodborne illness lawsuits. He is currently lead attorney for a major food poisoning lawsuit involving victims from several states. He has also been selected for inclusion in the 2005-2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. For more information about Fred Pritzker, please see Food Poisoning: Attorney and Lawyer.

How Can You Prevent Shigellosis?
Because there is no vaccine for Shigellosis, it is important to take the following simple steps to prevent a Shigella infection:

  • Frequently wash hands with soap and water
  • Keep infected individuals away from food
  • Avoid cross-contamination
  • Cook all meat and poultry thoroughly
  • Reheat ready-to-eat meat foods until steaming
  • Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly
  • Refrigerate food properly

Shigella Prevention: Diaper Changing
Most Shigella infections occur via the oral-fecal route—meaning some small particle of the stool of an infected person is unintentionally ingested by another person. The easiest and best way to block the oral-fecal route is frequent and thorough hand-washing. People who change diapers or come into contact with toddlers should be especially careful and wash their hands frequently. Young children should be supervised while washing hands several times a day, especially if they are in day-care or are in the midst of toilet training.

If you have a child in diapers who has a Shigella infection, you may want to keep him out of contact with other children as much as possible. Dirty diapers from an infected child should be kept in a pail with a lid. The pail and changing area should be thoroughly cleaned with a disinfectant after the diapers have been disposed.

Shigella Prevention: Food Preparation
Even though hand washing can help prevent contamination, if you have Shigellosis you should not prepare food for your family until you know that you are no longer carrying the Shigella bacteria.

Cook meat, poultry and other raw foods thoroughly to 170° Fahrenheit. Meat and poultry can become contaminated with Shigella during processing or transport. If cooked thoroughly, even meat that has Shigella on its surface should be safe to eat. Refrigerate any leftovers soon after cooking. When reheating leftovers, make sure the food reaches proper temperatures.

Avoid cross contamination of raw and ready-to-eat foods. If you have been cutting raw meat or vegetables, make sure you thoroughly wash all surfaces and utensils before doing anything else. Thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them. When storing raw meat in the refrigerator, keep it on the bottom shelf so that if juices leak, they do not contaminate other foods.

Shigella Prevention: Travel and Swimming
If you or your family travel to underdeveloped countries, make sure you drink only treated or boiled beverages. When swimming in a pool, try not to drink the water--even though most pool water is treated, if someone with Shigellosis has been swimming in it, it can become contaminated.

Shigella: Attorney and Free Consultation
If you or someone you love has been hospitalized after a Shigella infection or after any other foodborne illness, contact Pritzker | Olsen, P.A. for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and remedies. Call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900, e-mail info@pritzkerlaw.com, or fill in the online consultation form.

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