Shigella is a Gram-negative foodborne pathogen that is closely related to E. coli and Salmonella1. A publication by Scallan et al.2 in 2011 estimated that 1456 131,254 human foodborne shigellosis cases, including 10 deaths, occur annually in the US. Three Shigella groups are the major disease-causing species: S. flexneri, which is the most frequently isolated species of Shigella worldwide (accounting for 60% of cases in developing countries); S. sonnei, which causes 77% of cases in developed countries; and S. dysenteriae, which is usually the cause of epidemics of dysentery, particularly in confined populations such as refugee camps3.
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