Shigellosis Outbreak in Al Batinah South Governorate, Oman Case-control study
Journal Title: Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal - Year 2015, Vol 15, Issue 3
Abstract
Objectives: An outbreak of acute gastroenteritis due to Shigella flexneri occurred in August 2012 in the catchment area of the Wadi Sahtan Health Center in Rustaq, Al Batinah South Governorate, Oman. Te aim of this study was to discover possible causes of this outbreak in the villages of Fassa, Rogh and Amk and to measure the risk of exposure among cases and controls. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in September 2012 in Fassa, Rogh and Amk. All households in the three villages were interviewed. Case and control households were compared to determine possible exposure avenues, including place of residence, source of drinking water, hand hygiene levels and practices related to drinking water, food preparation and environmental sanitation. Results: Residing in Fassa (P <0.0001; odds ratio [OR] = 4.86, 95% confdence interval [CI] = 2.22–10.63) and average hand hygiene practices (P = 0.008; OR = 13.97, 95% CI = 1.58–123.36) were associated with an increased risk of contracting shigellosis. No signifcant differences were found with regards to the other exposure avenues. Conclusion: Tis was the frst study conducted in Oman regarding an outbreak of shigellosis in a community setting. Te only variables that signifcantly impacted the risk of acute gastroenteritis were residing in Fassa and average hand hygiene practices. Te source of the outbreak could not be identifed. However, septic tank sanitation and water and food consumption practices were not satisfactory in the studied villages. Tese need to be addressed to prevent similar outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis in this region in the future.
Authors and Affiliations
Idris Abaidani| Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance & Control, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman, Prasanna A. Raju| Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance & Control, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health, Al Batinah South Governorate, Rustaq, Oman, Issa Al-Shualli| Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance & Control, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman, Khalid Al-Sa’di| Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance & Control, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health, Al Batinah South Governorate, Rustaq, Oman, Nasser Al-Shaqsi| Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance & Control, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health, Al Batinah South Governorate, Rustaq, Oman, Amer Al-Khatri| Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance & Control, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health, Al Batinah South Governorate, Rustaq, Oman
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