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Domino Effect’ Key To Unlocking Shigella Mysteries

Diarrheal diseases are the second leading cause of death, after lower respiratory tract infections, for children under age 5. Of these deaths, a full 75 percent are from shigellosis. Yet Shigella, the Gram-negative bacterium transmitted via contaminated food or water, does not seem to get the attention it’s due for the worldwide devastation it causes.

According to the World Health Organization, Shigellosis is responsible for 90 million illnesses and 108,000 deaths annually. And while viewed as a Third World disease, WHO says there are half a million cases each year involving military personnel and travelers from industrialized countries. The United States sees about 14,000 shigellosis…

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 Extensively drug-resistant Shigella infections are increasing. Here’s what you need to know

In 2015, there were no reports to the CDC of extensively drug-resistant shigellosis. But by 2022, 5% of all shigellosis cases were extensively drug-resistant. While this may not sound like a huge increase, with global travel connecting more people, public health officials are concerned about its potential to spread. Extensively drug-resistant shigellosis is not curbed by three different classes of common antibiotics — macrolide, quinolone and cephalosporins — and it does not respond to common antibiotic alternatives. Researchers are in the process of developing effective treatments. Antibiotics from the carbapenem class may be useful, according to Emerging Pathogens Institute Director J. Glenn Morris, Jr., M.D.

Articles of Interest

Shigella, A Survivor's Story

Shigella, a deadly bacterial infection that causes diarrhea, may not be a household name, but it quickly became one for the Maier family when Jackie became severely ill at nine years old...

About Shigella and Shigellosis

Shigella is a family of bacteria that can cause sudden and severe diarrhea (gastroenteritis) in humans. Shigellosis – the illness caused by the ingestion of Shigella bacteria – is also known as bacillary dysentery. It can occur after ingestion of fewer than 100 bacteria, making Shigella one of the most communicable and severe forms of the bacterial-induced diarrheas.

CDC issues an alert...Super Shigella on the Rise

In late February 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory due to an increase in cases of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella species. XDR Shigella are strains that are resistant to azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and ampicillin. There are currently no CDC recommendations for treating XDR shigellosis. Alternate antibiotics are limited by US availability, lack of clinical data, as well as poor efficacy for infections in the gut lining.

Dr. Kiyoshi Shiga: Discoverer of the Dysentery Bacillus

The clinical manifestations of dysentery have been described for centuries, and the prototypic bacterial agent, Shigella dysenteriae, was identified 100 years ago. In the English language there has been remarkably little written about Dr. Kiyoshi Shiga, discoverer of the dysentery bacillus.

Gastro superbug: Victorians warned about rising cases of shigellosis

Many of the antibiotic-resistant Victorian cases have been identified among men who have had recent sexual contact with other men, while others involved returned travellers, the alert says.

How Do the Virulence Factors of Shigella Work Together to Cause Disease?

Shigella is the major cause of bacillary dysentery world-wide. It is divided into four species, named S. flexneri, S. sonnei, S. dysenteriae, and S. boydii, which are distinct genomically and in their ability to cause disease. Shigellosis, the clinical presentation of Shigella infection, is characterized by watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. Shigella's ability to cause disease has been attributed to virulence factors...

Shigella Diversity and Changing Landscape: Insights for the Twenty-First Century

Shigella are Gram-negative pathogenic enterobacteria and the etiological agent of bacillary dysentery or shigellosis. In humans, Shigella specifically invade and colonize the colonic mucosa leading to its disruption. Shigellosis is associated with fever and abdominal cramps; its diagnosis relies on the presence of erythrocytes, polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), and mucus in patient stools, which stand as diagnostic elements.

Shigella outbreak in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside ‘a disease of destitution’

The disease, called shigellosis, is caused by a highly contagious bacterium known as shigella, which causes symptoms of dysentery: profuse mucous or even bloody diarrhea, low-grade fevers and abdominal cramps. Shigellosis usually occurs in developing countries where sanitation is poor, making an outbreak in urban Vancouver, where I work as a resident emergency doctor, highly unusual.

Shigella: What to Know About America's New Drug-Resistant Bug

News that a stomach bug is becoming resistant to antibiotics is alarming, but before you start fearing the so-called new bug, there are a few things you should know.

The Latest Drug-Resistant Infection Causes Painful, Bloody Diarrhea

The newest drug-resistant bacteria on the scene is a multidrug-resistant form of Shigella, which causes an ugly form of food poisoning.

The Rising Dominance of Shigella sonnei: An Intercontinental Shift in the Etiology of Bacillary Dysentery

Shigellosis is the major global cause of dysentery. Shigella sonnei, which has historically been more commonly isolated in developed countries, is undergoing an unprecedented expansion across industrializing regions in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The precise reasons underpinning the epidemiological distribution of the various Shigella species and this global surge in S. sonnei are unclear but may be due to three major environmental pressures.

This Stomach Bug Isn’t Responding to Antibiotics. Scientists Are Worried

Five percent of Shigella infections are now resistant to standard antibiotics. This could be a predictor of what’s to come with other bacteria.

What Foods Cause Shigella?

Mild Shigella infection usually resolves on its own without antibiotics, however, antibiotics can shorten the illness and kill the Shigella bacteria. Antibiotics commonly used are ampicillin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra), ceftriaxone (Rocephin), or ciprofloxacin. Antidiarrheal agents can make the illness worse and should be avoided.

What is Shigella, the increasingly drug-resistant bacteria the CDC is warning about?

The new forms of the bug are resistant to all five of the antimicrobial treatments that are typically used, which was never seen before 2016 and have been increasing in prevalence ever since, says Dr. Louise Francois Watkins, a medical officer at the CDC. Most Shigella strains are resistant to one or some of the drugs, but not all five, she told NPR.

What Is Shigella? The STI That Some Don’t Even Know They Have

It may sound like a Nigella Lawson-inspired drag queen, but Shigella is no joke – it’s an STI that some people don’t even realise they’ve had. Because it causes diarrhoea, stomach cramps and fever, it’s easy to mistake this nasty gut infection for food poisoning, but it’s actually caused by bacteria found in faeces. Shigella is also incredibly infectious and only needs a tiny amount of bacteria to spread, so if you’re into rimming and/or anal sex, you should definitely make yourself aware of it.

What to Know About Shigella

Shigella infection is the third most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in the United States, after Campylobacter infection and Salmonella infection and ahead of E. coli O157 infection.

Resources

Shigella Blog

A site that provides information about Shigella, the symptoms and risks of infection, testing and detection of Shigellosis, and how to prevent the spread of the Shigella bacterium.

CDC

Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by a group of bacteria called Shigella. Most who are infected with Shigella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps starting a day or two after they are exposed to the bacteria. Shigellosis usually resolves in 5 to 7 days. Some people who are infected may have no symptoms at all, but may still pass the Shigella bacteria to others. The spread of Shigella can be stopped by frequent and careful handwashing with soap and taking other hygiene measures.

Food Safety News

Breaking news for everyone's consumption.

KidsHealth

The severity of the diarrhea sets shigellosis apart from regular diarrhea. In kids with shigellosis, the first bowel movement is often large and watery. Later bowel movements may be smaller, but the diarrhea may have blood and mucus in it.

MedlinePlus

About 1 in 10 children with severe Shigella enteritis develop neurological problems, including febrile seizures (also called a "fever fit") when body temperature rises quickly and the child has seizures, or a brain disease (encephalopathy) with headache, lethargy, confusion, and stiff neck.

NHS

In the UK, most people with dysentery only experience mild symptoms. It's not always necessary to see a GP, as it tends to clear up within a week or so.

Patient

The disease tends to last from one day to one month with an average of one week. The person can be a carrier for the infection for up to four weeks but usually less. Mortality is rare but can occur in malnourished children and the elderly.

StatPearls

Symptoms include high fever, vomiting, diffuse colicky abdominal pain followed by bloody mucoid diarrhea, and tenesmus. The condition usually self-resolves within 5 to 7 days of onset of symptoms.