Colonial morphology of Shigella boydii bacteria cultivated on a Hektoen enteric (HE) agar surface, 1976. Image courtesy Centers for Disease Control (CDC). (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) The U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health alert advisory Friday that it has been monitoring an increase in a particular stomach bug that’s becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotic intervention.A shigella infection, called shigellosis, brings about diarrhea that lasts for several days, usually up to a week, and possibly also fever and stomach cramps.
It is caused by bacteria that spreads easily, typically through person-to-person contact including sexual contact, and indirectly through contaminated food and water.
The CDC estimates that shigella cause about 450,000 diarrheal illnesses, 5,400 hospitalizations, and 40 deaths each year in the United States.