CDC Warns About Increasingly Drug-Resistant Shigella
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health advisory regarding extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella infections in the U.S. CDC has been monitoring an increasing trend in XDR shigellosis reported through the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for Enteric Bacteria (NARMS).
According to CDC, the number of Shigella infections reported to CDC that were caused by XDR strains rose from 0 percent in 2015 to 5 percent in 2022. CDC defines XDR Shigella bacteria as strains that are resistant to all commonly recommended empiric and alternative antibiotics: azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), and ampicillin. At present, there are no clinical studies to inform recommendations for the antimicrobial treatment of XDR shigellosis.