CDC warns new drug-resistant bacteria is rising in the US and posing major 'public health threat'

Key Points:

• A drug-resistant strain of shigellosis, called XDR, is spreading across the US, causing concern among health officials due to its resistance to standard antibiotics and increased hospitalization rates.
• The CDC reports that while XDR shigellosis cases were nonexistent in 2011, they accounted for 8.5% of shigellosis infections by 2023, with about one-third of infected patients requiring hospitalization.
• Shigellosis causes severe diarrhea and stomach pain, with children under five typically most at risk, but the drug-resistant strain is now most commonly found in middle-aged men, particularly in the Western and Northeastern US.
• The high transmissibility of shigellosis, combined with widespread antibiotic use in humans and animals, raises concerns about the emergence and spread of drug-resistant bacteria, contributing to over 2.8 million resistant infections and 35,000 deaths annually in the US.
• Health officials are calling for strengthened surveillance and public health measures to limit the spread of this drug-resistant superbug and mitigate the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.