Ohio Shigella Cases Reach 383 as of October 26, Approaching Last Year's Full-Year Total of 395
Ohio has reported 383 cases of shigellosis in 2026 as of October 26, according to the Ohio Department of Health, approaching the 395 cases reported in all of 2025. The state reported 26 new cases in October, compared with 10 reported by October 8. Franklin County has reported the most cases with 122, followed by Cuyahoga County (45), Summit County (28) and Hamilton County (23).
Among this year's Ohio cases, 258 were male and 125 female, the median age is 39, and 118 patients — 30.8 percent — were hospitalized. Shigella bacteria cause shigellosis through fecal-oral transmission, sexual contact and contaminated food or water, triggering diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps; most people recover within five to seven days without antibiotics.
Health officials are increasingly concerned about drug-resistant strains that are becoming harder to treat. An April CDC report found extensively drug-resistant Shigella made up 8.5 percent of samples in 2023, up from 0 percent in 2011. The CDC estimates shigellosis causes about 450,000 infections in the United States each year and recommends washing hands properly, staying home when sick and seeking medical care if symptoms become severe; people diagnosed with shigellosis should not have sex for at least two weeks after symptoms end.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 宋内志贺菌革兰阴性杆菌显微图。图片：Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya，CC0，取自维基共享资源。
