October 10, 2026, 5:50 a.m. ET
If a stomach issue wasn’t enough this year, Stark County has reported cases of sexually transmitted diarrheal disease.
Shigellosis is a highly contagious bacterial infection that made headlines when authorities saw an increase in a species of drug-resistant bacteria.
Stark County has reported 12 cases so far this year, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health. The majority of cases, seven, led to hospitalizations and all but one were contracted by men.
Are Ohio and Stark County facing an outbreak?
Of the 12 cases reported in Stark County, two were from Canton, said Kaelyn Parrish, public health epidemiologist for the city of Canton.
“To the best of my knowledge, the cases reported to us this year are not associated with an outbreak,” she wrote in an email.
The ministry did not know whether these cases came from drug-resistant species.
Although Ohio has reported 360 cases so far this year, the numbers aren’t that different from previous years. Aside from 2020 and 2021, when the world was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio has reported more than 300 cases each year for the past decade. The worst during this period was in 2016, when more than 1,000 Ohioans contracted the disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 450,000 cases of shigellosis occur each year in the United States, making it the third most common bacterial enteric illness.
How Shigellosis Spreads
Transmission of Shigella occurs when people put something in their mouth or swallow something that has come into contact with the stool of a person infected with Shigella.
It can be spread by fecal-oral transmission, sexual contact, and contaminated food or water.
Who is at risk?
Although anyone can get the disease, certain groups are more at risk according to the CDC.
Signs of shigellosis
Symptoms usually appear a few days after infection and last for seven days. Most people with shigellosis have:
- Feeling the need to have a bowel movement even when the intestines are empty
- Diarrhea that may be bloody or last more than three days
- Fever
- Stomach pain
How to prevent disease
According to the CDC and Canton City Public Health, the best way to avoid illness is to:
- Wash your hands with soap and water at key times
- Be careful when changing diapers
- Avoid swallowing water when swimming in ponds, lakes or untreated water sources.
- Wash raw fruits and vegetables before eating them
- When traveling abroad, follow good food and water habits and wash your hands often.
- If a partner has a Shigella infection, don’t have sex for at least two weeks after the diarrhea stops.
People with a Shigella infection usually improve without antibiotic treatment within five to seven days. People with mild shigellosis may only need fluids and rest.
Why are health officials worried about the spread of shigellosis?
A CDC report from April found that drug-resistant shigella is on the rise. Extremely drug-resistant strains represented 8.5% of samples in 2023, compared to 0% in 2011.
In 2023, the CDC issued a health advisory regarding the XDR (extensively drug-resistant) strain, saying it is a growing threat because it is resistant to commonly used oral antibiotics.
“Enhanced surveillance, timely reporting, and targeted prevention strategies are needed to limit the transmission of XDR Shigella strains,” the report notes.
“It’s hard to put the genie back in the bottle,” Dr. Aaron Glatt, an epidemiologist and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York, told USA TODAY at the time. “We’re going to see strains here that are resistant to commonly used treatments.”
While most people recover within a week, health officials say the growing number of drug-resistant infections reminds us to wash our hands, stay home when sick and seek medical attention if symptoms worsen.
Includes reporting by Cincinnati Enquirer editor Alex Perry and USA Today reporter Sara Moniuszko.
Contact Aaron at 330-580-8428 or ahhughes@usatodayco.com. On X: @AaronHughe2
Gn Health
