Extensively drug-resistant Shigella climbs in U.S., CDC report finds
Extensively drug-resistant strains of Shigella, a gut bacterium long associated with day care outbreaks and travelers' illness, made up 8.5% of U.S. samples with resistance data in 2023, up from none during 2011 through 2015. Doctors and researchers in the U.S. and Britain say sexual contact among gay and bisexual men is helping drive the spread.
TL;DR
- Extensively drug-resistant Shigella strains accounted for 8.5% of U.S. samples with resistance data in 2023.
- This is an increase from zero reported cases between 2011 and 2015.
- Doctors and researchers in the U.S. and Britain suggest sexual contact among gay and bisexual men is a driver of the spread.
- Shigella is a gut bacterium commonly linked to daycare outbreaks and traveler's illness.