Bacillary dysentery is a bacterial infection that affects your digestive system. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting. It’s most common in areas that don’t have water sanitation. Most cases go away without treatment. But severe cases can be life-threatening and require treatment at a healthcare facility.

What Is Bacillary Dysentery?

Bacillary dysentery (pronounced “BAS-uh-ler-ee” “DIS-uhn-ter-ee”) is a gastrointestinal (GI) disease — it affects your digestive system (GI tract). “Bacillary” means it relates to bacteria. Dysentery is severe diarrhea that contains blood or mucus.

If you have bacillary dysentery, a bacterial infection becomes more severe, causing inflammation in your small and large intestines. Symptoms range from mild to life-threatening.

Anyone can get bacillary dysentery, and the bacteria that cause it spread easily. It affects about 165 million people worldwide each year and kills more than 1 million people each year. It’s more common in areas that don’t have water sanitation — facilities that prevent diseases that spread through drinking water.

Symptoms and Causes

Symptoms of bacillary dysentery

Bacillary dysentery symptoms may include:

Your symptoms may be mild or severe.

What is the cause of bacillary dysentery?

Some of the most common bacteria that can cause bacillary dysentery include:

These bacteria usually pass from person to person when poop from an infected person gets into another person’s mouth (fecal-oral route). Common examples include:

  • Making and/or serving food without washing your hands
  • Not washing your hands after using the restroom or changing diapers
  • Drinking contaminated water
  • Anal sex, including rimming (analingus) and other sexual contact involving the anus
  • Touching contaminated objects or surfaces

What is the incubation period for bacillary dysentery?

The incubation period for the bacteria that can lead to bacillary dysentery can be from one day to a week. An incubation period is the amount of time between exposure to a germ and the appearance of symptoms.

Complications of this condition

Bacillary dysentery complications may include:

  • Extreme inflammation
  • Dehydration (infants, people 65 and older and people with a compromised immune system (immunocompromised) are at a greater risk of developing dehydration)
  • Sudden (acute) kidney disease
  • Widening (dilation) of your large intestine

These complications may be life-threatening. It’s important to get medical care right away if you have symptoms.

Diagnosis and Tests

How doctors diagnose this condition

Healthcare providers will review your medical history, ask about your symptoms and conduct a physical exam. If they think you have bacillary dysentery, they’ll recommend a stool culture. A stool culture is a type of bacterial culture test. It checks a sample of your poop for the presence of bacteria that can cause bacillary dysentery.

Management and Treatment

How is it treated?

Many people who have bacillary dysentery don’t need medical treatment. Symptoms often get better in a few days to a week. In these cases, you should:

  • Avoid over-the-counter antidiarrhea medications like loperamide (Imodium A-D®, K-Pek II®) and bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol®, Bismatrol®), which can make your symptoms worse.
  • Drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.
  • Avoid people for at least two full days (48 hours) after the last time you have diarrhea to prevent spreading bacillary dysentery to others.
  • Take over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce pain and fever.

In severe cases that require medical attention, treatment often includes:

When should I see my healthcare provider?

Visit a healthcare provider if your symptoms don’t go away after a few days or if they get worse.

Go to the nearest urgent care or emergency room if you have signs of moderate or severe dehydration, like:

Outlook / Prognosis

What can I expect if I have this condition?

Most people who have bacillary dysentery feel better in a few days without medical treatment. But some people are at a greater risk of developing dehydration. Dehydration complications may cause:

In severe cases, dehydration can also be fatal.

Prevention

Can bacillary dysentery be prevented?

The best way to prevent bacillary dysentery is to prevent the spread of germs. Wash your hands with soap and clean water after using the restroom and before handling food.

You can also help reduce your risk of infection by:

  • Not sharing personal items with others, like towels.
  • Not using water unless you know it’s germ-free (sterile). You can boil water, use chlorine tablets or use bottled water. This includes water you use to drink, make ice, cook and brush your teeth.
  • Staying away from people who are sick.
  • Thoroughly cooking all food.
  • Washing all fresh fruits and vegetables with clean water or peeling them before eating.

How can I avoid spreading it?

If you have bacillary dysentery, the following steps can help prevent spreading the infection. For the first 48 hours after your last symptoms, you should avoid:

  • Being around others
  • Having sexual intercourse
  • Preparing food
  • Swimming

It’s also a good idea to:

  • Clean toilets, sinks, handles and other surfaces with disinfectant wipes or sprays.
  • Wash your laundry, including bedding, in hot water.

Additional Common Questions

What is the difference between bacillary dysentery and amoebic dysentery?

Bacteria cause bacillary dysentery. A single-celled parasite (amoeba) causes amoebic dysentery (amoebiasis).

A note from Wockr

Stomach pain and diarrhea with blood or mucus are some of the telltale signs of bacillary dysentery. It’s a common condition, and it usually goes away on its own without treatment.

In the meantime, isolate yourself from others if you can (even better if you have a second bathroom to use by yourself) to keep the germs from spreading and drink fluids to help prevent dehydration. If your symptoms linger (or get worse) and you can’t hold down water, get to the nearest urgent care or ER for treatment.