Shigella with Reduced Azithromycin Susceptibility in the U.S.

An outbreak of shigellosis involving 43 patients in Los Angeles was caused by a clone with reduced susceptibility to azithromycin.

Shigellosis is the third most common enteric bacterial infection in the U.S., with incidence highest among children aged <5 years. Infection can spread person to person or through contaminated objects, food, or water and requires only a low inoculum dose. Antibiotic treatment may decrease the severity and duration of illness, but rates of resistance to ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole — the agents traditionally used to treat such infections — have increased in recent years. Currently, azithromycin is recommended as the first-line drug for shigellosis.

Researchers at the CDC and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health recently reported an outbreak of shigellosis involving 43 individuals in Los Angeles County in May 2012…

Reviewing Author

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection