Infection control Stockholm confirms six suspected cases of the contagious bacteria shigella linked to three preschools in Danderyd and Sundbyberg.
One of the victims has suffered from about a hundred bouts of diarrhea in less than a week and needed hospital treatment on two occasions, according to information given to TV4 Nyheterna.
– We take this very seriously and have dedicated resources to the case, informs Helene Boström, Head of Environment in Danderyd municipality.
Smittskydd Stockholm has been investigating an outbreak of the bacterium shigella linked to three preschools in the municipalities of Danderyd and Sundbyberg outside Stockholm for just over a week.
The first signal came on June 20 when pediatricians reported two suspected cases of shigella infection, both attending the same preschool. In the following days, suspicious cases linked to two other preschools were reported.
– In total, there are six cases, says assistant infectious disease doctor Andreas Jacks in an email to TV4 Nyheterna.
Needed hospital care
The bacteria cause, among other things, fever, stomach aches and diarrhoea. The disease can become serious and it is common to need hospital care, according to the 1177 care service.
One of the infected is a girl at a preschool in Danderyd. She has suffered from about a hundred diarrheas in less than a week and needed hospital care on two occasions where she received fluid replacement, according to information to TV4 Nyheterna.
Caused by food
The incubation period of the shigella infection is usually one to three days, but can be seven days at the longest, according to the infectious disease doctor Andreas Jacks. The six cases that have been confirmed so far have fallen ill around the same time a week ago.
– Since the accumulation of cases has occurred at three different preschools during the same time period, it is most likely to believe that the infection came from a food that was consumed at these preschools, rather than that it would be person-to-person transmission, says Andreas Jacks .
– We have now contacted the municipalities’ environmental inspectors to map which foods may have been delivered to the preschools that have cases of shigella infection.
“Most serious”
Environment manager Helene Boström confirms to TV4 Nyheterna that cases of shigella bacteria are being investigated in Danderyd municipality after being contacted by infection control Stockholm on Monday.
– These are confirmed cases. What is unclear right now is where the infection is coming from, she says.
According to her, they cannot currently confirm that it comes from a food or a specific preschool, but say they are working according to routines for infection tracking.
– We take this very seriously and have dedicated resources to the case, says Helene Boström.