Increase in extensively-drug resistant Shigella
sonnei infections in men who have sex with men
in the EU/EEA and the UK

On 27 January 2022, the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported an increase in extensivelydrug resistant Shigella sonnei infections. Since then, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, and Spain have reported cases of shigellosis with sampling dates from 2020 to 2022 and with isolates either closely genetically related by whole genome sequencing (WGS), or with the same or a very similar resistance profile. Most cases were in adult men who have sex with men (MSM). A large proportion of the patients with available information were reported to be infected through sexual transmission.