How is shigellosis primarily transmitted?

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Multiple Choice

How is shigellosis primarily transmitted?

Shigellosis is a bacterial infection whose spread occurs mainly through the fecal-oral route. The Shigella bacteria are shed in stool, and contamination of hands, food, water, or surfaces allows transmission when those microbes are ingested. The very low infectious dose means only a small number of organisms are needed to cause illness, so close contact, poor hygiene, or contaminated food or water readily lead to infection. Humans are the principal reservoir, though transmission can also occur via mechanical vectors like flies or cockroaches, and sexual contact can spread it through direct fecal-oral exposure. It is not typically spread by the air, and it is caused by a bacterium, not a virus or a parasite, so descriptions involving airborne spores or a viral/parasite transmission model don’t fit the main pattern.

Shigellosis is a bacterial infection whose spread occurs mainly through the fecal-oral route. The Shigella bacteria are shed in stool, and contamination of hands, food, water, or surfaces allows transmission when those microbes are ingested. The very low infectious dose means only a small number of organisms are needed to cause illness, so close contact, poor hygiene, or contaminated food or water readily lead to infection. Humans are the principal reservoir, though transmission can also occur via mechanical vectors like flies or cockroaches, and sexual contact can spread it through direct fecal-oral exposure. It is not typically spread by the air, and it is caused by a bacterium, not a virus or a parasite, so descriptions involving airborne spores or a viral/parasite transmission model don’t fit the main pattern.

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