--- title: The Economic Impact of Shigella Infections date: 2021-01-04T20:29:00-08:00 author: admin canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-economic-impact" section: Resource Library --- [Foodborne Illnesses](/foodborne-illnesses) / [Shigella](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella) / # The Economic Impact of Shigella Infections ### *Shigella* causes nearly a billion dollars in medical costs and lost productivity every year. The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) published its first comprehensive cost estimates for 16 foodborne bacterial pathogens in 1989. Five years later, it was estimated that the medical costs and productivity losses that *Shigella* infections caused each year ran from $907 million to over $1 billion, based on an estimate of 2.1 million cases and between 120-360 deaths. The average length of a related hospital stay was 4.6 days, with a cost of $16,888. Using a different kind of economic analysis, this same 1996 study estimated that the annual cost of *Shigella* infections was $63 million, while the average cost of each confirmed and treated infection was $390; however, these estimates were based on significantly lower (and outdated) incidence and death rates. Most recent estimates are all much higher. For example, a study published in 2010 estimated the cost per case (in 2009 dollars) for a treated *Shigella* infection to be $7,092, with an estimate of 96,686 cases and 1,227 deaths per year, and a total cost to U.S. residents of $686 million. The most recent report on the economic burden of foodborne illness summarized the following about *Shigella*: > *Shigella* ranks 10th among the 15 pathogens included in this report both in terms of total and per case economic burden. It imposes an estimated $138 million in economic burden in a typical year: 63 percent of this burden ($87 million) is due to deaths, 28 percent ($39 million) to hospitalizations, and 9 percent ($13 million) to non-hospitalized cases. [ Next: How to Prevent Shigella Infection › ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-prevention) ### More information about Shigella [February 26, 2020 ###### Mariscos San Juan Restaurant Shigella Outbreak and Litigation - California (2015) According to a Public Health Warning, on Saturday afternoon, October 17, 2015, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department was notified by a local hospital of 5 patients with fever ... ](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/mariscos-san-juan-restaurant-shigella-outbreak-and-litigation-california-2015) [February 11, 2018 ###### Pearl Catering Shigella Outbreak Lawsuits - Oregon (2018) On August 14, 2018 the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and Yamhill County Health and Human Services received reports of multiple people with gastrointestinal illness days after attending a wedding and ... ](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/pearl-catering-shigella-outbreak-and-litigation-oregon-2018) [November 05, 2014 ###### Salsarita Shigella Outbreak Lawsuit – Arkansas (2014) Salsarita’s Restaurant in the Walmart Home Office Café in Bentonville has reopened following a Shigella outbreak that made 275 sick in nine states. ... ](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/salsarita-shigella-outbreak-lawsuit-arkansas-2014) [March 08, 2010 ###### Subway Restaurant Shigella Outbreak Lawsuits - Illinois (2010) At least 116 people were confirmed ill with Shigella infections traced to a Subway restaurant in Lombard, IL in March of 2010. Marler Clark represented 74 people sickened in this ... ](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/subway-restaurant-shigella-outbreak-chicago) [1. View all ](/news_events/outbreaks?illness=shigella&year=all) ## All Shigella Resources [###### Shigella Food Poisoning ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/about-shigella) [###### The Incidence of Shigella Infection ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-incidence) [###### The Prevalence of Shigella in Food and Elsewhere ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-prevalence) [###### How is Shigella Infection Spread? ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-transmission) [###### Symptoms of Shigella Infection ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-symptoms-risks) [###### Complications of Shigella Infection ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-complications) [###### How is Shigellosis Diagnosed? ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-diagnosis) [###### Treatment for Shigella Infection ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-treatment) [###### The Economic Impact of Shigella Infections ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-economic-impact) [###### How to Prevent Shigella Infection ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-prevention) [###### Outbreaks of Shigella Infection ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-outbreaks) [###### Antimicrobial Resistance in Bacteria ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/antimicrobial-resistance-in-bacteria-shigella) [###### Shigella References ](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-references) ### Other foodborne illnesses [E. coli](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli) [Salmonella](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/salmonella) [Listeria](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/listeria) [Hepatitis A](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/hepatitis-a) [Reactive Arthritis](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/reactive-arthritis) [Guillain-Barre Syndrome](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/guillain-barre-syndrome) [Irritable Bowel Syndrome](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/irritable-bowel-syndrome) [Norovirus](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/norovirus) [Botulism](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/botulism) [Campylobacter](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/campylobacter) [Cyclospora](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/cyclospora) [Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/hemolytic-uremic-syndrome)