Rising Shigella Infections and Antibiotic Resistance in Israel: A Growing Concern

Shigella infection, typically caused by contaminated food or person-to-person contact with carriers, has been on the rise in Israel for several years. The Ministry of Health reports that in 2020, there were 4,679 cases in the country compared to just a few hundred in previous years. The bacterium can remain in the body for 12 hours to several days before causing symptoms such as high fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, loss of appetite, weakness, and painful bowel movements.

The most serious risk associated with this infection is meningitis, which can lead to vomiting, confusion, sensitivity to light, convulsions, and potentially life-threatening complications. However, treatment typically involves antibiotics when the bacterium is identified in a laboratory culture.

Analysis has shown that the Shigella bacterium in Israel has developed high resistance to common antibiotics. Most strains identified as the “Shigella Sony” strain have made it difficult to treat with standard treatments. In response to the rising infection rates and growing concern about antibiotic resistance