Shigella Surveillance

Key points

  • National Shigella surveillance data are collected through passive surveillance of laboratory-confirmed human Shigella infections.
  • Clinical diagnostic laboratories submit Shigella isolates to state and territorial public health laboratories, where they are confirmed, speciated, and subtyped.
  • Unusual or untypable isolates are forwarded to CDC; results are then reported back to public health laboratories.
Isolate in laboratory

Surveillance overview

State and territorial public health laboratories report Shigella infections electronically to CDC through a variety of mechanisms. Data are collected into the Laboratory-Based Enteric Disease Surveillance (LEDS) system. The annual summaries of these data are the national source of species and subtype information for Shigella.

National Shigella Surveillance Overview [PDF – 2 pages]

Shigella Hypothesis Generating Questionnaire‎

The Shigella Hypothesis Generating Questionnaire, modeled after the National Hypothesis Generating Questionnaire, is a tool created for public health professionals to interview people who are experiencing diarrheal illness and are suspected or confirmed to have Shigella infection. The questionnaire investigates exposures related to shigellosis, including sexual contact, international travel, foodborne, and waterborne exposures.


Download questionnaire:

English [PDF - 8 pages]

Spanish [PDF - 9 pages]