- Medical experts in the United States have issued warnings following an increase in cases of Shigella, a highly contagious bacterial disease which causes severe symptoms including bloody diarrhoea, fever, and stomach cramps, and in some cases, death.
- Shigella affects 450,000 people and causes 38 deaths per year in the US, and more than half of the total cases involve drug resistant strains.
- A recent federal report highlights a demographic shift in susceptibility, with white men now identified as the group most at risk from drug-resistant strains, whereas previously children under the age of five were most severely impacted.
- The bacteria spreads through person-to-person contact, contaminated food or water, and sexual activity, with health officials noting that men who have sex with men and individuals experiencing homelessness face a significantly elevated risk.
- While most individuals recover through oral rehydration, severe cases require limited effective antibiotics, though researchers have recently reported encouraging results from clinical trials for a new vaccine.
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