Sexually transmitted diarrhea on the rise and becoming difficult to treat – Report
A gut pathogen that causes diarrhea and vomiting is morphing into a dangerous and difficult-to-treat sexually transmitted infection (STI). In the United States, roughly 450,000 people acquire shigellosis each year, which can lead to dysentery. Historically, this highly contagious bug has mostly been spread through contaminated food or water during travel, and among young children in day […]
Sexually transmitted shigellosis, a highly contagious gut pathogen that causes diarrhea and vomiting, is becoming a more dangerous and difficult-to-treat infection, particularly among communities of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). In the United States, the number of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella isolates has risen from 0 percent in 2011 to 8.5 percent in 2023, with the majority of cases affecting adult men.
Hospital workers at UCLA now see roughly one case of XDR Shigella per month, a significant increase from just one case in the entire year in 2022. The US CDC warns that these drug-resistant strains are being seen among vulnerable populations, with over a third of patients requiring hospitalization and nearly half of those with known HIV status having HIV.
The disease, first reported in 1974, has shifted from being a minority of cases to being a major route of transmission, with sexual contact increasingly identified as a significant factor.
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