Microscopic view of Shigella sonnei (Public Domain)

Nutrition and Prevention

The Known Nutrition
Shigella
has grown on many chemically defined media to investigate their nutritional requirements. This bacteriaShigella sonnei in the human body (Public Domain) 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.A child washing his hands to prevent Shigella sonnei (Public Domain)

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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