The Impact of Shigellosis and Recommended Treatment in Children

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.

NCT Number	NCT07433426
Lead Sponsor	Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Collaborators: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Conditions	Diarrhea Infectious, Shigella, Growth & Development
Enrollment	700 participants
Start Date	2026-03-18
Primary Completion	2029-08 (estimated)
Study Completion	2030-08 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-03-30