Bacterial Infection Rampant in Williamsburg and Borough Park
Photo via the CDC
Two neighborhoods in Brooklyn have seen a spike in the number of cases of a certain very gnarly sounding bacterial infection known as shigellosis. According to the Mayo Clinic, shigellosis is an intestinal disease caused by the shigella bacteria which potentially includes bloody diarrhea amongst other nightmarish symptoms. Both Williamsburg and Borough Park have recently seen a large number of instances of the bacterial infection—at least 80 cases since November.
Shigellosis is most often seen in children, but can occur in adults as well. The disease is spread through direct contact with an infected individual and especially by contact with an infected person’s feces. So it would be safe to assume that, based on what we saw on the season premier of Girls this week, if Marnie had shigella, her man friend would almost certainly have contracted the disease by now.
Back in 2011, there was a full-on shigellosis outbreak in the Borough Park and Williamsburg neighborhoods of Brooklyn, and was confined to the observant Jewish community (where it also seems to be confined now). Daycare centers and elementary schools are ideal breeding grounds for shigellosis, and if you’ve ever been around kids between the ages of zero and, like, thirteen, you know full well that poop is an inevitable consequence of interacting with hem. So if you work or reside in either of the affected neighborhoods, we strongly you to steer clear of potty trainees and strollers until things have cleared up.
