Version: April 2024
Dysentery is an intestinal infection causing severe diarrhea with blood or mucus. Being highly infectious, it’s usually transmitted through contaminated food or water. There are two main types: Bacillary dysentery, caused by Shigella bacteria, and amoebic dysentery, caused by Entamoeba histolytica, a parasite. Symptoms include stomach pain and frequent, urgent bowel movements. If untreated, it can lead to dehydration, critical illness, and even death. Treatment pertains to maintaining hydration, adequate nutrition and, if severe, antibiotics may be used. Prevention revolves around good hygiene practices, avoiding contaminated water, and vaccination in areas of high risk.
The data shows a clear seasonal trend in dysentery cases in mainland China, with the highest number of cases typically reported between June and August, and the lowest between December and February. Over the span of a decade (2014-2024), there has been a general decline in the number of cases reported. However, the disease is still prevalent, with thousands of cases reported every month in 2024. This signifies a consistent effort in controlling it but also indicates the potential challenge in complete eradication due to various external factors such as sanitation, public awareness, and healthcare systems.
While the overall mortality due to dysentery is low, the pattern is less discernible. Deaths do not seem to spike in the months with the highest incidence of disease, indicating effective measures for preventing death despite high illness rates. Furthermore, disease-related deaths appear to have reduced significantly over the studied period. For example, eight deaths were reported in the year 2015, while only two deaths have been recorded in the early months of 2024. This could be attributed to improvements in healthcare treatments and early diagnosis schemes. However, the persistence of occasional deaths suggests the disease still possesses lethal risks in specific cases.