Sexually transmitted diarrhea is on the rise and its morphing into a drug-resistant superbug

You don’t have to be a pioneer on the Oregon Trail to catch the bug that causes dysentery.Nowadays, the infection is spreading more through sex — and evolving into something that’s “close to untreatable,” one expert said.Shigella bacteria infect nearly half a million people in the US every year — causing diarrhea with blood or mucus (the hallmark of a dysentery infection), stomach pain, cramps, fever and vomiting.Scientists are learning more about why the disturbing disease is spreading so quickly, and why it’s developing a resistance to treatment.Shigella is a nasty illness that causes more than uncomfortable doo-doos.It can become life-threatening by dehydrating and depleting bodily fluids including blood, causing bacterial and septic shock, neurological complications, and internal bleeding and infection.The bacteria spreads through infected poop that gets into the mouth because of ill-washed hands, or swallowing tainted food or water.

A minuscule amount — as few as 10 organisms — is enough to get you sick.The population most likely to get infected are children under 5, who catch it at day care and schools from other kids who are just starting to learn about keeping themselves clean.Travelers to places where sanitation standards are lower, and people experiencing homelessness are also at higher risk.But the population that’s experiencing one of the fastest rises in shigella infection are gay and bisexual men, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM).

Experts say shigella is “endemic” to these communities, meaning it’s constant and regularly present.A study in July showed that the spread of the disease through sex grew 15% faster year-over-year between 2015 and 2020 compared to spread through travel, food, or nursery outbreaks.Emerging evidence suggests that sex may even be the major route of transmission now, but it’s hard to tell when it’s not asked about when patients show up for medical care.Experts say many people don’t r...