There have been numerous reports of infections with Shigella strains that are not susceptible to the antibiotics most commonly used to treat such infections, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health advisory.
Here are four things to know about the outbreaks, Shigella and what the CDC is recommending for healthcare professionals.
1. Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Shigella that causes about 500,000 cases of diarrhea in the U.S. each year. Shigellosis is very contagious and can spread quickly through communities or segments of the population, according to the CDC. There are four species of Shigella:
- Shigella sonnei
- Shigella flexneri
- Shigella boydii
- Shigella dysenteriae
2. The CDC has received reports of major outbreaks of multidrug-resistant Shigella sonnei infections in recent months, with the bacteria showing resistance to ciprofloxacin and/or azithromycin, the antibiotics most commonly used to fight such infections. Outbreaks have cropped up in Illinois, Minnesota and Montana involving gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.
3. Generally, the CDC recommends frequent hand washing and other good hygiene practices as a way to prevent the spread of Shigella.
4. For clinicians, the CDC recommends the following:
- Get stool cultures from patients who may have shigellosis
- Base the treatment on the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the individual isolate or on the outbreak strain
- If treatment failed or a patient has prolonged diarrhea, continue to get follow-up stool cultures semi-weekly until the patient has a negative culture