Shigella dysenteriae infection typically presents with which features?

Shigella dysenteriae infection typically presents with which features?

• A. Inflammatory diarrhea with high fever and bloody stools
• B. Watery diarrhea without fever
• C. Chronic constipation
• D. Jaundice and dark urine

Answer: (A)

Shigella infection classically causes inflammatory dysentery—an inflammatory diarrhea with systemic symptoms. The bacteria invade the colonic mucosa, triggering intense inflammation and ulceration, which leads to small-volume, often bloody and leukocyte-rich stools, along with crampy abdominal pain and fever. This invasive, inflammatory process explains why fever and blood in the stool are typical. The other options don’t fit this pattern. Watery diarrhea without fever points to noninflammatory secretory or toxin-mediated diarrheas (like cholera or certain ETEC infections), not invasive Shigella. Chronic constipation isn’t an acute infectious presentation. Jaundice and dark urine suggest hepatobiliary disease or hemolysis, not Shigella enteritis.

Shigella infection classically causes inflammatory dysentery—an inflammatory diarrhea with systemic symptoms. The bacteria invade the colonic mucosa, triggering intense inflammation and ulceration, which leads to small-volume, often bloody and leukocyte-rich stools, along with crampy abdominal pain and fever. This invasive, inflammatory process explains why fever and blood in the stool are typical.

The other options don’t fit this pattern. Watery diarrhea without fever points to noninflammatory secretory or toxin-mediated diarrheas (like cholera or certain ETEC infections), not invasive Shigella. Chronic constipation isn’t an acute infectious presentation. Jaundice and dark urine suggest hepatobiliary disease or hemolysis, not Shigella enteritis.