Multidrug-resistant Shigellosis Spreading in the US - Press Release

Cipro-resistant Shigella is very contagious and is spreading in the United States and abroad. Thorough handwashing can help prevent shigellosis. When shigellosis does occur, doctors should use lab tests to determine which antibiotics will work to treat the infection, and doctors and patients should carefully consider whether antibiotics are needed at all. International travelers are bringing a multidrug-resistant intestinal illness to the United States and spreading it to others who haven't traveled, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Shigella sonnei bacteria resistant to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin sickened 243 people in 32 states and Puerto Rico between May 2014 and February 2015.