‘Serious public health threat’: CDC warns about the rise in almost untreatable Shigella bacterial infections

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning about a rise in extensively drug-resistant cases of the bacterial infection Shigella, a major cause of inflammatory diarrhea.

The agency calls the new form of the stomach bug, which causes the diarrheal condition known as shigellosis, a “serious public health threat.” Evidence suggests the illness is spreading among gay and bisexual men in particular, apparently through sexual contact, both in the U.S. and abroad.

The CDC held a call Tuesday with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the U.K. Health Security Agency to alert doctors about the spread of a form of the bacterium that is resistant to all typically recommended antibiotic treatments.

Read more here from NBC News.