Question
A 15-month-old baby has been experiencing diarrhea for 10 days. For the first four days, the baby had diarrhea one to two times a day. The situation improved on the fifth day, but diarrhea recurred after eating shrimp on the sixth day. On the seventh day, the baby went to the hospital for a check-up and was found to have 10 white blood cells in the stool. How should it be handled?
Answer
Bacterial dysentery is a common pediatric enteric infection caused by Shigella species, characterized by symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, tenesmus, and mucoid pus-filled stools. If not treated promptly, it may lead to systemic failure of the circulatory and respiratory systems, even posing a threat to life. The following preventive and treatment measures are recommended: maintain good personal hygiene, drink boiled water, use disinfected water to wash fruits, vegetables, and utensils, wash hands before and after meals, do not defecate at will, heat leftover food before consumption, and separate raw and cooked foods to prevent flies from contaminating food.