CDC Issues Warning Over Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria

The Centers for Disease Control and PreventionCDC() issued a public health alert to warn people about the possibility of becoming resistant to antibiotics. Bacteria known as Shigella.

In the advisory issued (PDF) Feb. 24, the CDC said it has been monitoring an increase in people infected with Shigella strains that are resistant to drugs. Known as shigellosis, Shigella infections generally cause diarrhea that can be bloody, fever, and abdominal cramps.

In its Feb. 24, notice, the agency said that it is “monitoring an increase in extensively drug-resistant Shigella infections reported through national surveillance systems” According to the report, approximately 5% of respondents believed that they were eligible for the grant. “Shigella infections reported to CDC were caused by” drug-resistant strains. This is in comparison to the 0 percent recorded in 2015, it stated.

“Given these potentially serious public health concerns, CDC asks healthcare professionals to be vigilant about suspecting and reporting cases of [drug-resistant] Shigella infection to their local or state health department and educating patients and communities at increased risk about prevention and transmission,” According to the CDC advisory.

The CDC said that previously, shigellosis most often affected children under the age of 4. Recent years have seen drug-resistant infections in adults, including HIV-infected persons, homosexual men, and international travelers.

The notice said that most patients recover from shigellosis without antibiotics and oral rehydration may be sufficient for many people who are dealing with shigellosis. For patients suffering from drug-resistant strains of the bacteria, however, no CDC treatment recommendations are available.

Antibiotic-resistant Shigella bacteria can resist azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and ampicillin, the CDC notice said.

“However, a recent publication from the United Kingdom outlined a possible strategy for treating severe [drug-resistant] shigellosis using oral pivmecillinam and fosfomycin (for patients with prolonged symptoms or as oral step-down after intravenous treatment) or IV carbapenems and colistin (for hospitalized patients with severe infections or complications,” According to the advisory.

Shigella is the No. The number 1 cause of bacterial disease in the world is Shigella. Says The World Health Organization website. In 2016, it accounted for approximately 212,000 deaths, or about 13 percent of all diarrhea-associated fatalities, WHO says.

Outbreaks

A report last week by a European health agency (pdf() found that there were more than 200 Shigella cases reported in Cape Verde, an island off the coast of Africa. It was noted in the report that some cases might have been caused by an antibiotic-resistant strain. Infected people returned to the United States after September 2022.

“In the current outbreak, information on possible vehicles of infection or common exposures have not yet been identified but investigations are ongoing in Cabo Verde,” According to the report. “Multiple modes of transmission are plausible, with the most likely one being foodborne (including via infected food handlers) but person-to-person transmission is also possible.”

A total of 32 people contracted the Shigella bacteria from eating at a Vietnamese-style restaurant in Seattle, Washington earlier this month, health officials reported. According to health officials, approximately 32 people were infected with the Shigella bacteria after eating at a Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle. Local media They ordered that the restaurant be closed down on January 24th and that the owners do a thorough clean-up.

A federal study last year found that dozens of people were sickened by a water park in Kansas. Officials said that 21 people were diagnosed with Shigella bacteria, while six others contracted the norovirus from a trip to the Tanganyika Wildlife Park near Goddard.

36 others also reported stomach problems after visiting the splashpark, but they didn’t have laboratory tests to confirm their illness. Four people were taken to the hospital.

San Diego, California: Officials Confirmed A Shigella outbreak took place between October 2021-January 2022. The bacteria was first discovered in October 2000, when six homeless people were admitted to hospital.

This report was compiled by the Associated Press.

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