Drug resistance up for Shigella clusters among MSM

(HealthDay)—Men who have sex with men (MSM) have elevated risk for antimicrobial drug-resistant Shigella infection, according to a report published in the September issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Anna Bowen, M.D., M.P.H., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues examined the correlations between transmission route and antimicrobial resistance among U.S. shigellosis clusters reported during 2011 to 2015.

The researchers found that nine of the 32 clusters were caused by shigellae resistant to ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, or azithromycin (three, two, and seven clusters, respectively); three clusters were resistant to more than one of these drugs. Resistance to any of these drugs was observed in all seven clusters among MSM and in two of the other 25 clusters. Among MSM-associated clusters compared with the other clusters, azithromycin resistance was more common (86 versus 4 percent of clusters).

"For adults with suspected shigellosis, clinicians should culture feces; obtain sex histories; discuss shigellosis prevention; and choose treatment, when needed, according to antimicrobial drug susceptibility," the authors write. "Public health interviews for enteric illnesses should encompass sex practices; health messaging for MSM must include shigellosis prevention."