Dysentery Causes

What are the causes of dysentery?

The two most common causes of dysentery are infection with bacteria of the Shigella group, and infection by an ameba called Entamoeba histolytica. They are primarily diseases of the tropics, but may occur in any climate.

Some other causes of dysentery are:

• Digestive bacterial infection.
• Digestive viral infection.
• Scurvy.
• Bowel ulceration.

How is dysentery Spread?

Amoebic dysentery is passed on by carelessness of people and negligible hygiene. The Entamoeba histolytica amoeba and the shigella bacteria often thrive in food and water contaminated by human feces. As these parasites live in the large intestine, they travel in the feces of infected people, and a number of times bacillary dysentery has occurred as the feces contaminate the water supplies where sanitation is poor, or where sewage mixes with drinking water.

Amoebic dysentery can also occur due to contamination of fruits and vegetables in areas where human feces are used as fertilizer or where contaminated food is consumed without adequate heat treatment. Fruits and vegetables grown with contaminated water are another common source of disease. When these cysts reach the intestine of another person the individual amoebae are released from the cysts and now they are easily able to cause infection.

Infections can also spread through households, through dirty hands of infected people especially when they don't wash their hands after using the bathroom, after changing diapers, or before handling food. Shigella infections tend to be especially contagious.