Epidemic Shigella dysenteriae type 1 in Burundi: panresistance and implications for prevention.

An epidemic of Shigella dysenteriae type 1 infections has affected Africa since 1979. Reported dysentery cases increase sharply in Burundi during September through December. Of stool samples from 189 patients reporting bloody diarrhea in November 1990, a pathogen was identified in 123 (65%).