Shigellosis: analysis of 176 isolations.

Shigellosis, a worldwide epidemiological problem, is caused usually by six serotypes of Shigella. Man is the principal host, often infected by person-to-person contact. The number of reported cases of shigellosis has progressively increased during the past decade. Because of the observation, the authors reviewed all isolations of Shigella species in patients at Howard University Hospital. There were 176 isolations from 53 patients during the 4½ year period of the study. The study emphasizes the scope and distribution of the disease and the effectiveness of isolation and identification procedures.