Yasmina Kattou 07:22, March 27, 2023

The Institut Pasteur warns of the spread of shigellosis in France, and in particular, its "sonnei" strain. Causing bloody diarrhoea, this bacterium, which until now was transmitted with the hands, can now be spread through sexual relations. Worse, it has become resistant to antibiotics.

The alert is given. In a statement, the Institut Pasteur is concerned about the spread of shigellosis in France and its "sonnei" strain. Sister of the famous E. Coli, shigellosis causes the death of nearly 200,000 people each year around the world. Fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, glairo-bloody or hemorrhagic diarrhea, septic shock ... Its symptoms are numerous, and sometimes violent.

Until now, shigella sonnei bacteria have been transmitted due to a lack of hand hygiene, such as gastroenteritis. But since then, scientists have noticed a new means of transmission: sexual relations.

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Men more affected than women?

"Initially, we only had strains that came back from Southeast Asia, and they were isolated cases. And then, the stump, we could not find it anymore. Except that now, we have an active transmission of the bacterium and it is mostly men" who are contaminated, explains to the microphone of Europe 1 Sophie Lefèvre, of the reference center of bacteria E.Coli, Salmonella and shigella at the Pasteur Institute.

Currently, "I have 99 infected men, for three women, over the period 2020-2021. And the transmission does not stop because in 2023, it is still there," she continues. This phenomenon is partly explained by the fact that the shigella sonnei bacterium is resistant to treatments.

Prescribing the right antibiotics at the right time

"It has a resistance profile to several antibiotics, which we did not necessarily have before. Until now, we had strains that had resistance to an antibiotic, but not an accumulation of resistance to several molecules," worries Sophie Lefèvre.

So, faced with a case of shigella, the Institut Pasteur recommends that doctors perform a bacterial test to find out which strain it is, and prescribe the right antibiotics.