The re-emergence of sexually transmissible multidrug resistant <i>Shigella flexneri</i> 3a, England, United Kingdom.

ABSTRACT: Shigellosis is an enteric infection that transmits through the faecal-oral route, which can occur during sex between men who have sex with men (MSM). Between 2009 and 2014, an epidemic of sexually transmissible Shigella flexneri 3a occurred in England that subsequently declined. However, from 2019 to 2021, despite SARS-CoV-2 restrictions, S. flexneri 3a continued to re-emerge. We explored possible drivers of re-emergence by comparing host demography and pathogen genomics. Cases were primarily among 35-64 year old men in London. Genomic analyses of 502 bacterial isolates showed that the majority (58%) of re-emerging MSM strains were a clonal replacement of the original, with reduced antimicrobial resistance, conservation of plasmid col156_1, and two SNPs with 19 predicted effe

SUBMITTER: Mason LCE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11296952 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature