How is Shigellosis Diagnosed?
Shigella infections are diagnosed with a laboratory test (stool culture) on a person’s stool specimen. Prompt processing of specimens and use of appropriate culture media increases the likelihood of isolating the bacteria. The laboratory can also do special tests to tell which species of Shigella the person has and which antibiotics would be best to treat it; antibiotic sensitivity tests are important since Shigella is often resistant to multiple antibiotics.
More advanced methods, such as plasmid profiling and chromosomal fingerprinting using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) are two molecular techniques that can help to characterize Shigella isolates in food and human samples. These tests can assist in determining whether cases are isolated or associated with outbreaks.