Tunisia recorded the death of a child affected by the “Shigella” bacterium this week, and the accommodation of six other children in the intensive care unit as a result of complications from infection with the germ, which left a state of panic among families and fear of sending their children to schools and incubators, according to Sky News.
The Ministry of Health revealed that 96 infections with the germ, the most dangerous of which are among children, identified signs of infection with “Shigella”, which affects the digestive system, leaving abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea and a rise in temperature, causing dehydration of the body and a decline in blood circulation, calling for prevention by avoiding contaminated water and washing hands. continuously.
The ministry also announced that it had begun field research to collect samples of food and water in order to verify the sources of the germ in various regions of the country.
The regional director of health in Tunisia, Tariq Belnaser, told Sky News Arabia that the “Shigella” bacteria began to spread in Tunisia since last July, recording infections among children that required hospitalization to receive treatment through antibiotics and replacement of fluids and salts.
Belnaser explained that the eight-year-old girl, who died of infection with the germ, arrived late to the hospital following her health condition worsened, stressing that they had launched awareness campaigns for families to urge them to transfer their children for treatment as soon as signs appeared on them, and for children in schools to make them aware of the importance of adhering to hygiene and washing hands. continuous.
Mahgoub Al-Awni, a virologist, explained the danger of “Shigella” as a bacterium that multiplies at the level of the intestine and festers its surface, causing vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes accompanied by bleeding and secretions from the intestines, especially in children and people with immunodeficiency, explaining that “Shigella” is an old germ that has disappeared from Tunisia and remained recorded with a few cases, before it reappeared in recent months and spread in an epidemiological manner due to a lack of care for the cleanliness of the places and water where the infection appeared, in addition to the speed of its transmission through food, water and hands, and its danger is related to the carriers of infection who do not show symptoms and contribute to the spread Infection very quickly and cases requiring intensive care and hospitalization.
