India, June 9 -- Kerala is on alert over reports of Shigellosis infections in Wayanad district and a death due to the infectious disease caused by Shigella bacteria in Kozhikode, with the state health minister local bodies to strengthen hygiene and sanitation measures.

A four-year-old girl who was undergoing treatment at Kozhikode Medical College in Keralam after being infected with Shigella reportedly died on Saturday. Later, two students from a school in Wayanad district tested positive for Shigellosis, a highly contagious bacterial intestinal infection caused by the Shigella genus.

Shigella, a bacteria, causes an infection called shigellosis that can lead to diarrhoea, fever and stomach cramps in patients. It spreads mainly through c...