Dysentery

• Overview
• Causes
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis
• Treatment

Overview

Dysentery is defined as diarrhea with blood, pus, or mucus. This is accompanied by abdominal pain. This disease appears in two forms:

1. Amoebic dysentery (caused by a single celled parasite)
2. Bacillary dysentery (Caused by an invasive bacteria)

Causes

Some of the following organisms commonly cause this disease:

1. Shigella
2. Campylobacter
3. coli
4. Salmonella
5. Entamoeba histolytic

Symptoms

Some of the following symptoms are associated with this disease:

• Sudden onset of high fever
• Abdominal pain
• Cramps and bloating
• Flatulence
• Urgency to pass stool
• Feeling of incomplete emptying
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Vomiting
• Dehydration

Diagnosis

For the diagnosis of this disease, a stool sample is taken for analysis.

Treatment

For the treatment of this disease the patient can be given either Antiparasitic medications (Metronidazole, or Iodoquinol), or antibiotics (Ciprofloxacin, Levofloxacin, or Azithromycin).

Adequate fluid intake is a must.