A diarrhea-causing superbug is wreaking havoc in Los Angeles. Researchers have tracked down a troubling new strain of Shigela bacteria in the environment—which can resist almost every antibiotic thrown at it.
Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted a study, which looked at this unusual collection Shigela cases were detected between 2023 and 2024. Each case was found to be carrying an extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strain of bacteria. Although the victims have all recovered, researchers say their findings are “scary,” especially since the superbug may still be spreading in LA and possibly elsewhere.
Shigela it is a common source of diarrhea and other stomach symptoms. While most cases cause only week-long misery that resolves itself, the infection rarely causes serious, even fatal, complications, especially in people with weak or underdeveloped immune systems, such as very young children. Shigela it kills about 200,000 people worldwide every year; in the US, it is thought to infect up to half a million people every year, and thousands are hospitalized as a result. Shigela it is usually spread through contaminated food or drink, but it can also be sexually transmitted. This latter type of transmission often occurs through anal contact between men who have sex with men.
Antibiotics are used to treat severe infections Shigela infection or keeping disease under control in those at high risk of illness. But like many other viruses, Shigela bacteria have continuously learned how to resist the common antibiotics used against them. The most common strains are drug resistant, which means they can overcome many types of antibiotics. In their paper, published this month in the journal Journal of Infection ControlUCLA scientists have described in detail the discovery of a new XDR strain of Shigella sonnei in three of their patients.
According to the report, the three cases were discovered in a period of three months between 2023 and 2024. All three of these diseases involve men who have a history of sleeping with other men, one patient reported that he had recently had sex with him. diagnosed Shigela a week before. Initial lab tests revealed that they carried the XDR strain, which is officially defined as resistance to the antibiotics azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and ampicillin.
ULCA scientists perform genetic analysis of samples collected from their patients. They found that all three patients carried the same strain, although it was significantly different from previous XDR strains identified in other parts of the world. That means this version has been evolving and spreading locally, the researchers said.
“Discovery of a novel XDR S. sonnei the active spread in Los Angeles is alarming,” they wrote.
Fortunately, the cases themselves were curable or cleared on their own. One person became seriously ill and ended up in intensive care as a result. But the real-time detection of XDR resistance in this case prompted doctors to switch to a different recommended drug that proved effective and the patient eventually recovered fully.
Anyway, the evolution of XDR Shigela in the US and around the world is a major and growing public health problem. These conditions are obviously more difficult to treat than usual Shigela infection, and the delay in finding the right drug that works against the XDR strain can be very dangerous. Last year, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a public health advisory about the disease. In the advisory, the CDC reported that about 5%. Shigela Cases reported to the agency in 2022 were caused by XDR types, up from 0% in 2015. Given these recent trends, the problem is likely to have worsened since then. And UCLA scientists say more needs to be done to identify and stop the spread of these dangerous viruses.
“These cases highlight the rapid expansion of XDR Shigela in the US and the urgent need for proper detection and management,” they wrote.
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