According to the data, the rate of Shigella-resistant infections increased sharply between 2011 and 2023. At the beginning of the period, almost no resistant cases were recorded, but in 2023 already about 8.5% of the samples met the definition of high resistance to antibiotics. This means that an increasing number of patients do not respond to the standard drug treatment, which makes it difficult to control the disease and prolongs the duration of recovery.
The study, which was based on more than 16,000 samples, tested the bacteria’s response to common antibiotics such as ampicillin, azithromycin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin and other drugs. The findings showed that some strains do not respond to any of these drugs. Meanwhile, the authorities point out that there are currently no approved oral medications for the treatment of the most resistant strains of the bacterium.
Shigella causes a disease called shigellosis, which manifests itself mainly in diarrhea, sometimes with blood, abdominal pain and fever. The symptoms usually appear within one to two days of infection and last about a week, but in some cases the disease may last for weeks. Some patients do not develop symptoms at all, but may still spread the bacteria to the environment.
The bacterium spreads mainly through contact with the feces of an infected person, for example when changing diapers, treating a patient or by contact with contaminated surfaces. Infection can also occur through undercooked food or contaminated water, including untreated ponds, lakes or water sources. The data indicate that most of those infected have not traveled outside the United States, indicating a local spread of the infection.
One of the worrying figures is that about a third of the patients required hospitalization. In rarer cases, severe complications may occur, including blood infections, kidney damage, convulsions or reactive arthritis. In these situations, the lack of effective antibiotic treatment may lead to considerable worsening and even life-threatening.
Infectious disease experts in the United States emphasized that the main way to deal with the phenomenon is prevention. Observing hand washing, personal hygiene, consuming safe food and avoiding contaminated water can significantly reduce the risk of infection. In the meantime, there is a call for increased monitoring of the bacterial strains and the development of new treatments, given the reality that traditional antibiotics are losing their effectiveness.