CDC Health Advisory: Recommendations for Treating Shigella Infections with Emerging Resistance Genes

CDC Health Advisory: Recommendations for Treating Shigella Infections with Emerging Resistance Genes

Dear Partners in Prevention,

Our partners in CDC’s NCEZID have released a Health Advisory announcing new recommendations for diagnosing and managing Shigella strains with possible reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin.

Infections with emerging strains of Shigella may be harder to treat with ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic often used when treatment is needed, due to emerging quinolone resistance. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests may not accurately predict whether Shigella infections with certain resistance genes can be treated effectively with ciprofloxacin. Using an antibiotic that isn’t effective can contribute to the growing problem of multidrug-resistant Shigellaand increase the chance of others getting sick from this highly contagious bacteria.

CDC recommends that doctors take these steps when treating patients with shigellosis.

• Test for antibiotic resistance in all shigellosis cases to determine which antibiotics the bacteria may be susceptible to
• Do not use antibiotics unless necessary for Shigella infections
• Avoid using ciprofloxacin when the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is ≥ 0.12 ug/ml, even if the laboratory report identifies the isolate as susceptible.

 For more information and additional recommendations for clinicians, laboratories, and public health officials, read the full CDC Health Advisory: https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00401.asp.

Thank you for your commitment to STD prevention.

Best Regards,

Gail Bolan, MD
Director, Division of STD Prevention
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention