Four decades of shigellosis in Israel: epidemiology of a growing public health problem.
Despite the improved standard of living in Israel, shigellosis remains a common disease. Examination of trends in the incidence of shigellosis in Israel between 1951 and 1987 showed a period of declining rates followed by an increase in the reported incidence beginning around 1969. This increase was mainly due to Shigella sonnei; rates of infection with Shigella flexneri remained relatively constant. Trends showed marked differences between age groups and between ethnic groups. In comparison, the rates in the United States--much lower than those in Israel--began to decline in the early 1950s and have remained low. The incidence in Israel is now about 20 times higher than that in the United States. Thus shigellosis remains a major and growing public health problem in Israel, a country that has enjoyed a dramatic improvement in basic sanitary services and infrastructure over the past few decades. This disturbing finding lends urgency to efforts to control the disease.
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Medical Corps Headquarters, Israel Defense Force, Raanana, Israel.
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Cohen
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D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons; D012761:Shigella boydii; D012762:Shigella dysenteriae; D012763:Shigella flexneri; D012764:Shigella sonnei; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology