The Impact of Shigellosis and Recommended Treatment in Children

Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether antibiotic treatment of non-dysentery Shigella associated watery diarrhea (NDSD) cases improves clinical outcomes and growth in children. Children with NDSD seeking care for diarrhea at the study hospitals in Bangladesh and Zambia will be enrolled and randomized to receive Azithromycin or placebo (a look-alike substance that contains no drug). Enrolled children will be followed for three months with household visits. The investigators will determine whether antibiotic treatment of NDSD reduces the duration of diarrhea and time to microbiological cure (shedding of Shigella in stool), and whether it improves growth in children compared with the placebo group.

Timeline

Start

2026-03-18

Primary completion

2029-08

Completion

2030-08

Publications

• Background Dash S, Sultana E, Flynn K, Naz F, Ali M, Rahman MR, Rohman MM, Das S, Ahmed T, Faruque A, Chakraborty S. Evaluation of the performance and feasibility of RLDT in detecting Shigella in a primary healthcare facility of rural Bangladesh. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Dec 11:2025.12.08.25341873. doi: 10.64898/2025.12.08.25341873.
• Background Connor S, Velagic M, Zhang X, Johura FT, Chowdhury G, Mukhopadhyay AK, Dutta S, Alam M, Sack DA, Wierzba TF, Chakraborty S. Evaluation of a simple, rapid and field-adapted diagnostic assay for enterotoxigenic E. coli and Shigella. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2022 Feb 7;16(2):e0010192. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010192. eCollection 2022 Feb.
• Background Chowdhury G, Ghosh D, Zhou Y, Deb AK, Mukhopadhyay AK, Dutta S, Chakraborty S. Field evaluation of a simple and rapid diagnostic test, RLDT to detect Shigella and enterotoxigenic E. coli in Indian children. Sci Rep. 2024 Apr 16;14(1):8816. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-59181-6.
• Background Chakraborty S, Connor S, Velagic M. Development of a simple, rapid, and sensitive diagnostic assay for enterotoxigenic E. coli and Shigella spp applicable to endemic countries. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2022 Jan 28;16(1):e0010180. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010180. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Drugs

Indications