 Shiga became famous for the discovery of "Shigella dysenteriae", the organism that causes dysentery, in 1897, during a severe epidemic in which more than 90,000 cases were reported, with a mortality rate approaching 30%.The bacterium "Shigella" was thus named after him, as well as the Shiga toxin, which is produced by the bacterium.After the discovery of "Shigella", Shiga worked with Paul Ehrlich in Germany from 1901 to 1905.