*A sexually transmissible intestinal infection that causes severe diarrhea is growing more resistant to antibiotics, leaving doctors with fewer treatment options for some patients.
The infection, called shigellosis, is caused by Shigella bacteria. It spreads through contact with infected fecal matter, including during some sexual activities, and through contaminated food or water. As the New York Post reports, health experts are especially worried about extensively drug-resistant Shigella, known as XDR.
A 2026 CDC analysis found the share of tested Shigella samples classified as XDR rose from zero during 2011 through 2015 to 8.5% in 2023. Researchers examined 16,788 bacterial isolates collected between 2011 and October 2023. Overall, 510 showed extensive resistance to antibiotics commonly used against the infection.
Molecular biologist Shangxin Yang described the surge in comments reported by CIDRAP News. “It’s almost like an explosion of this pathogen in the community,” Yang said.
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Symptoms typically include diarrhea that may be bloody, fever, abdominal cramps and an urgent need to use the bathroom. Anyone can become infected, but recent outbreaks have disproportionately affected men who have sex with men. Sexual orientation itself does not cause infection; exposure to the bacteria does.
The CDC estimates about 450,000 Shigella infections occur each year in the United States. Most patients recover without antibiotics, but severe cases can require treatment. University of Cambridge geneticist Kate Baker warned in comments published by ScienceAlert that treatment is becoming harder.
“This disease has gone from being relatively treatable with off-the-shelf drugs to being close to untreatable over the course of the last decade or so,” Baker said.
Health officials recommend thorough handwashing, safer-sex practices and avoiding sexual contact for at least two weeks after diarrhea ends. Anyone with bloody or persistent diarrhea should seek medical care. Testing can confirm the infection and help determine whether antibiotics are appropriate.
Rising resistance does not make every Shigella infection untreatable. It does make preventing transmission and catching resistant cases early more important than ever.
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