An outbreak of shigellosis in a Children Welfare Institute caused by a multiple-antibiotic-resistant strain of Shigella flexneri 2a.

From September 1 to October 27, 2015, an outbreak of bacillary dysentery occurred in the Shenzhen Children Welfare Institute (SCWI). The shigellosis was uncommon in Shenzhen and no related outbreak was reported during the last 5 years. An epidemiological investigation was conducted and the children and nursing workers in SCWI were surveyed for gastrointestinal symptoms; 28 of children reported having a diarrheal illness. Rectal swabs or fecal specimens from 14 case patients and 24 nursing workers or cook, as well as 17 swabs from implicated items were collected and examined for Shigella, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Salmonella. Susceptibility testing and pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were performed on the Shigella isolates.