Shigella transmission shifts to sexual contact
A common diarrheal bacterium called Shigella is increasingly being spread through sexual contact, especially among adult men, according to a 2026 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This marks a shift from its traditional transmission routes, which included contaminated food or water during travel or in daycare centers.Rising antibiotic resistance in Shigella
The CDC report found that the proportion of Shigella strains resistant to nearly all antibiotics—known as XDR strains—increased from 0% to 8.5% between 2011 and 2023. This growing resistance makes treating infections more difficult and highlights a growing public health concern.Shigella causes severe gastrointestinal illness
Shigella causes shigellosis, a type of dysentery marked by bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and vomiting. In the United States, it affects about 450,000 people each year, with the majority of cases previously linked to food or water contamination.Surge in Shigella cases at UCLA
At the University of California, Los Angeles, the number of Shigella infections has risen sharply, with one case now reported per month compared to just one case for the entire year of 2022. Microbiologist Shangxin Yang described this increase as "almost an explosion of this pathogen in the population."Antibiotic resistance also rising in the UK
Across the Atlantic, antibiotic resistance in Shigella is also growing. In the United Kingdom, 86% of Shigella samples tested in 2025 showed resistance to multiple antibiotics, further complicating efforts to treat infections effectively.
