Drug-resistant stomach bug spreading in US sparks 'serious public health' alert

28 February 2023 , 03:52

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A “serious public health” alert has been made over an intestinal infection in the US (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A “serious public health” alert has been made over an intestinal infection which is showing resistance to drugs in the United States.

The shigella bacterial condition, which causes a range of symptoms such as diarrhoea, fever and stomach cramps, can result in a life-threatening blood infection in rare cases.

There has been a spike of an “extensively drug-resistant” shigellosis said the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who have issued the serious public health alert.

There are limited antimicrobial treatments available for drug resistant strains of the illness but for mild cases then good hydration is mainly what is needed to treat it, said the CDC.

It stated: “Shigella bacteria are transmitted by the fecal-oral route, directly through person-to-person contact including sexual contact, and indirectly through contaminated food, water, and other routes.

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Shigella bacteria can cause a range of symptoms including diarrhoea (Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)

"Shigella bacteria are easily transmitted because of the low infectious dose (as few as 10–100 organisms), and outbreaks tend to occur among people in close-contact settings [two–six].”

But while normally shigellosis has affected children the spike in cases has seen a rise among adults.

“Given these potentially serious public health concerns, CDC asks healthcare professionals to be vigilant about suspecting and reporting cases of XDR shigella infection to their local or state health department and educating patients and communities at increased risk about prevention and transmission,” the advisory said.

The CDC said that there had been a rise of extensively drug resistant (XDR) cases from zero in 2015 to 5% of infections in 2022.

An infection is described as being extensively drug resistant when it doesn’t respond to antibiotics that are normally used to treat it.

While antibiotics are not always needed for mild cases of shigellosis, they may still be used in certain situations, said the CDC.

It stated: "Most people with diarrheal illness require only supportive care and fluid replacement.

"Antimicrobial agents are not always needed for mild shigellosis, but they may be indicated to - shorten the duration of illness (by about two days) or reduce the likelihood of transmission, for example, during outbreaks in institutional settings, for food handlers to immunocompromised persons or those being treated with immunosuppressive drugs, and people living with HIV."

Tim Hanlon