April 16, 2026

A drug-resistant stomach bug is surging across the U.S., and doctors are sounding the alarm: the CDC says XDR Shigella now accounts for 8.5% of cases, up from zero just years ago, with more than 36,000 Americans potentially hit annually. The infection, which spreads through fecal-oral contact, sex and contaminated food, is hitting a different group than before — mostly adult men, median age 41 — and more than one-third of diagnosed patients wind up in the hospital. With treatment options shrinking and concerns rising for people with HIV, the warning is clear: this isn’t old-school Shigella anymore, it’s a tougher, more dangerous fight.

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