The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert to warn the public about a potentially antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as Shigella.
In the advisory issued (pdf) Feb. 24, the CDC said it has been monitoring an increase in people infected with Shigella strains that are resistant to drugs. Known as shigellosis, Shigella infections generally cause diarrhea that can be bloody, fever, and abdominal cramps.
The agency, in its Feb. 24 notice, said it is “monitoring an increase in extensively drug-resistant Shigella infections reported through national surveillance systems” and said that about 5 percent of “Shigella infections reported to CDC were caused by” drug-resistant strains. That’s compared with 0 percent in 2015, it noted….