Overview Product Pipeline V. Leishmaniasis Diarrheal Disease Malaria Chagas

		Related Press Releases and Articles: Institute For OneWorld Health Announces Strategic Advisory Board For Diarrheal Disease Program OneWorld Health Press Release  04.29.08 Roche and the Institute for OneWorld Health Announce Research Collaboration to Fight Neglected Diarrheal Diseases in Developing Countries OneWorld Health Press Release  04.17.08 OneWorld Health Sponsors Diarrheal Diseases Symposium at PEDICON 2008 to Share Information on Effective Therapies against Major Child Killer OneWorld Health Press Release  01.19.08 Dr. Victoria Hale to Build upon OneWorld Health’s Success for Broader Global Health Impact OneWorld Health Press Release  09.27.07		Five Common Types of Diarrheal Pathogens: Shigella Global Burden The bacterium that causes Shigellosis is found in every region of the world, including the United States. However, illness caused by Shigella (shown at left) is most commonly found among young children in developing countries; the estimated annual incidence per 1,000 children in the developing world is 750-2,000 cases, versus only 0.22 cases in the United States. Worldwide, the disease is responsible for an estimated 1 million deaths every year1. The two major bacterial species that cause Shigellosis are Shigella dysentariae and Shigella flexneri. The disease is potentially life-threatening, with fatality rates that can reach ten percent in severe case2. Malnourished patients are especially at risk for severe complications and death, compounding the effect of the disease in impoverished regions. Most cases of Shigellosis are transmitted via person-to-person contact. The initial symptoms (fever, fatigue, malaise, disinterest in food) are followed by watery diarrhea, sometimes mixed with blood, pus, or mucous. In severe cases, the bacteria may cause perforation of the colon, leading to infection and death. Current Treatment Although Shigella is not generally severely dehydrating, it is considered standard treatment for Shigellosis to replace lost fluids and salts using Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT). Severe cases are treated with antibiotics, usually ampicillin or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Unfortunately, strains resistant to these antibiotics have appeared in Africa and Asia3. This antibiotic resistance underscores the need for new, safe, and effective treatments for Shigellosis. Currently, many different Shigella vaccines are under development. One promising vaccine, CVD 1207, was shown to be insufficiently immunogenic, meaning that it is unlikely to induce good protection against the disease. Another candidate vaccine, SC602, was shown to induce good protection in adult American volunteers4. However, it was less immunogenic in Bangladeshi volunteers, implying that the vaccine works better in unexposed patients than in those patients living in endemic areas. Kotloff, K. L., Winickoff, J. P., Ivanoff, B., Clemens, J. D., Swerdlow, D. L., Sansonetti, P. J., Adak, G. K., and Levine, M. M. (1999) Bull World Health Organ 77, 651-666 Struelens, M. J., Patte, D., Kabir, I., Salam, A., Nath, S. K., and Butler, T. (1985) J Infect Dis 152, 784-790 3. Salam, M. A., and Bennish, M. L. (1991) Rev Infect Dis 13 Suppl 4, S332-341 4. Levine, M. M., and Svennerholm, A. M. (2001) Enteric Vaccines: present and future, 2nd edition Ed. (H.L., D., and H., S., Eds.), BC Decker, New York Return to Common Types of Diarrheal Pathogens page > Return to Diarrheal Disease main page >

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