Shigellosis is a disease caused by bacteria belonging to the family Shigella. Symptoms of shigellosis include watery diarrhea (that may have blood in it), fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, and stomach cramps. It is spread by consuming contaminated food or water, touching contaminated surfaces or through contact with an infected person. For more information, see the health unit’s fact sheet on shigella.
Simcoe Muskoka
Ontario
Technical Notes
The following graph shows the number of shigellosis cases in Simcoe Muskoka between 2000 and 2021. There have been between zero and nine cases of shigellosis in Simcoe Muskoka every year since 2000. In 2021, two cases of shigellosis were reported in Simcoe Muskoka.
The following graph shows the incidence rate of shigellosis in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario between 2000 and 2021. The incidence rate in Simcoe Muskoka is lower than the Ontario rate. The provincial increase in 2002 was caused by a large outbreak of Shigella sonnei related to a Greek-style pasta salad. In 2021, the Simcoe Muskoka incidence rate was 0.3 cases per 100,000 population and the Ontario rate was 0.9 cases per 100,000 population.
More detailed data for Ontario and each health unit can be found on Public Health Ontario’s interactive Reportable Disease Trends in Ontario tool.
There are many factors that influence how many cases are reported to the health unit, as explained on the Infectious Diseases page. It is unclear to what extent the global COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the reporting and spread of other infectious diseases – counts and rates of disease since 2020 should be interpreted with caution.
Provincial definitions classify cases as confirmed, probable or suspect based on clinical and/or laboratory diagnostic criteria. The provincial case definition for shigellosis changed in April 2009 to include a definition for probable cases whereas before there was no such classification. The definitions of confirmed and probable cases from 2009 onward are comparable to confirmed cases before 2009.
Page last updated August 19, 2022