Shiga bacillus

Shi·ga bacillus

noun \ˈshē-gə-\

Definition of SHIGA BACILLUS

: a widely distributed but chiefly tropical bacterium of the genus Shigella (S. dysenteriae) that causes dysentery in humans and monkeys

Biographical Note for SHIGA BACILLUS

Shi·ga \shē-gä\ Kiyoshi (1870–1957), Japanese bacteriologist. Shiga is best known for the discovery in 1897 of a bacillus that causes dysentery. Originally the bacterium was classified in the genus Bacillus, but in 1919 along with several other species it was placed in a new genus, Shigella, which was named in honor of Shiga.