Nutrition and Prevention
The Known
Nutrition
Shigella has grown on many chemically
defined media to investigate their nutritional requirements.
This bacteria
has been successfully cultivated on media that all consisted of
inorganic salt, glucose, nicotinic acid, and various
combinations of amino acids. Shigella sonnei is
does not ferment lactose, meaning that it does not break-down milk sugar
to produce lactic acid like many bacteria do, but Shigella
sonnei does use acid fermentation to metabolize substrates.
The products of acid fermentation by Shigella sonnei
are ethanol, acetic acid, succinic acid, formic acid, and carbon
dioxide. An essential nutrient of Shigella is iron and it is
obtained from the human body.
Unknown Nutrition Status
There is a still lot of research
being done on the topic of what Shigella sonnei uptakes
for nutrients. The question that most researchers are trying to
figure out is what nutrients are present in the host
cytosol and which are preferred. Most of this information on
this topic is still unknown but it is known that Shigella is
primarily from E. coli; therefore, the nutrition of
these organisms could have some similarities. If you would like
to learn more about E. coli nutrition, take a look at
here.
Prevention
There are many ways to prevent/contain Shigella sonnei.
Some of these ways include:
· Wash your
hands frequently
· Make sure
young children wash their hands after using the restroom
· Dispose of
diapers properly
· Disinfect
diaper changing tables or areas
· Do not prepare
food for others if you have this infection
· Keep children
away from others when having this bacterial infection
· Do not swallow
water from ponds, lakes, or untreated pools
· Cook all meat
and poultry thoroughly
· Refrigerate
food properly
· Wash fruits
and vegetables
· When
travelling make sure you only drink treated or boiled beverages
Now that you have seen what Shigella consumes from your
body, check out how it reproduces!
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