An 11-year study of shigellosis and Shigella species in Taiyuan, China: Active surveillance, epidemic characteristics, and molecular serotyping

A hospital-based surveillance of shigellosis was conducted in Taiyuan from 2005 to 2015. A total of 2655 stool cultures were collected from patients with diarrhea, 115 were identified as S. flexneri and 107 were S. sonnei. The highest infection rates were found among children under 5 years of age (34.2 %), and during the summer (61.0 %). ​Six serotypes were identified among S. flexneriisolates:1a, 2a, 2b, Xv, X and Y. Serotype 2a and Xv were the dominant serotypes in two periods, 2012-2015 and 2005-2008, respectively. High shigellosis rates over the past decade highlight shigellosis is still a major public health problem in Taiyuan.