Shigella infections are usually restricted to the intestine. There are a few reports of Shigella isolated from the blood and most of these are from children, usually the neonates and the malnourished. In the small number of adult cases of Shigella bacteremia which have been reported, there appears to be an association with underlying disease and immunosuppression including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. We report a rare case of septicemia with Shigella flexneri in a well-nourished, obese child, with no other predisposing underlying condition. With the prompt and aggressive symptomatic treatment along with administration of appropriate antibiotics based upon the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolate, the patient's recovery was uneventful.