There was an intensive increase within the drug-resistant Shigella bacteria accountable for watery and possibly bloody diarrhea, in response to the newest data.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory Friday warning the general public of the possibly serious public health concern.
Based on the advisory, the national surveillance systems saw a rise in extensively drug-resistant Shigella infections. Cases on account of XDR strains reportedly jumped 5% in 2022 in comparison with 0% in 2015.
For the reason that strains are immune to antibiotics, clinicians treating patients only have limited treatment options. What’s more, is that Shigella bacteria are easily transmissible.
Shigella might be transmitted in multiple ways apart from the fecal-oral route. Direct contact between person-to-person, sexual contact and indirect contact through contaminated food and water are ways by which the bacteria spread.
The characteristic symptom of shigellosis is diarrhea, which regularly comprises mucus or blood. Other signs and symptoms present include stomach pain or cramps, fever and nausea or vomiting. The symptoms often last for about five to seven days and even longer in some cases, as per the Mayo Clinic.
Apart from being easily transmissible, the brand new drug-resistant strains can spread antimicrobial resistance genes to other bacteria that infect the intestines, causing a more serious health issue.
“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 CDC stated in its advisory.
Shigella causes an infection called shigellosis that typically affects young children. Nevertheless, the rise in antimicrobial-resistant strains has been pronounced in adult populations, especially in men who’ve sex with men, people living with HIV, those that travel internationally and homeless individuals, CNN reported.
The brand new strains are immune to commonly prescribed antibiotics, including azithromycin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and ampicillin. The CDC has yet to release recommendations for optimal antimicrobial treatment.
A 2019 CDC report indicated that the U.S. witnesses greater than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections and around 35,000 deaths annually.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) previously reported an estimated 5 million deaths on account of drug-resistant pathogens in 2019. The death toll is anticipated to leap to 10 million by 2050, if no interventions are made.