Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Antimicrobial-resistant Shigella: where do we go next?

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 21, pages 409–410 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Shigella spp. that are resistant to almost all antimicrobial classes are increasing in prevalence and becoming globally dominant. The situation is critical and highlights a trend that is mirrored by other enteric bacterial pathogens. New interventions to prevent and treat these infections are essential to tackle a potential public health catastrophe.

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Kotloff, K. L. et al. Shigellosis. Lancet 391, 801–812 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Khalil, I. A. et al. Morbidity and mortality due to shigella and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli diarrhoea: the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990–2016. Lancet Infect. Dis. 18, 1229–1240 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Mason, L. C. E. et al. The evolution and international spread of extensively drug resistant Shigella sonnei. Nat. Commun. 14, 1983 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Schnupf, P. & Sansonetti, P. J. Shigella pathogenesis: new insights through advanced methodologies. Microbiol. Spectr. 7, 7.2.28 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Holt, K. E. et al. Shigella sonnei genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis indicate recent global dissemination from Europe. Nat. Genet. 44, 1056–1059 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Thanh Duy, P. et al. Commensal Escherichia coli are a reservoir for the transfer of XDR plasmids into epidemic fluoroquinolone-resistant Shigella sonnei. Nat. Microbiol. 5, 256–264 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Holt, K. E. et al. Tracking the establishment of local endemic populations of an emergent enteric pathogen. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110, 17522–17527 (2013).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Fernández Álvaro, E. et al. The repurposing of Tebipenem pivoxil as alternative therapy for severe gastrointestinal infections caused by extensively drug-resistant Shigella spp. eLife 11, e69798 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. MacLennan, C. A. et al. The Shigella vaccines pipeline. Vaccines 10, 1376 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. World Health Organization. WHO preferred product characteristics for vaccines against Shigella. WHO https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789240036741 (2021).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK

    Stephen Baker & Timothy A. Scott

  2. International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, UK

    Stephen Baker

Authors
  1. Stephen Baker
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Timothy A. Scott
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen Baker.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Baker, S., Scott, T.A. Antimicrobial-resistant Shigella: where do we go next?. Nat Rev Microbiol 21, 409–410 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00906-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00906-1

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Microbiology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Microbiology