Going public: 167 people with the runs in Iowa

That moment happened.

Usually it takes until puberty, but it happened.

diarrhea.toiletMy 7-year-old daughter, who was in a local Dettol commercial, which I had nothing to do with (that’s her, at the end, second row from the bottom, far rightin the pic below; I’ve always shamelessly promoted my children).

Yet this morning, she was too embarrassed to answer what number 1 meant, and number 2, while watching some other video this morning before school, something about poop.

And it happened.

Sure, kids find me hilarious until about 11-years-old, then it’s embarrassment for 10 years, then they come around.

Maybe the folks in Dubuque County, Iowa feel the same way, maybe they have state laws limiting what they can say.

But when 167 people have diarrhea since Oct 1, public health has to step in (not in the #2).

Seriously, no public announcement until April 11, 2011, on an outbreak that started Oct. 1, 2015?

 “This is a high number of diagnosed cases that we have had,” said Patrice Lambert, executive director of the Dubuque County Health Department.

Shigellosis is a disease caused by the bacterium shigella, which causes watery and sometimes bloody diarrhea, according to Lambert.

 “Wash your hands with soap and water,” Lambert said. “That’s the easiest thing to do, not only for shigellosis but for all communicable diseases.

Handwashing is never enough.