Symptoms of drug-resistant bug as cases surge through holiday hotspots

22 July 2023 , 11:15

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Shigella has been spreading across some holiday hotspots including Spain (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Holidaymakers have been warned to be on alert as a drug-resistant bug has been spreading in some popular tourist destinations. Clusters of the shigella sonnei infection have reportedly been spotted in Spain, as well as Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), over 300 cases of the illness have been reported since April this year. The ECDC said: "All strains in these seven clusters show resistance to first and second-line antibiotics."

The main symptoms of shigella include fever, severe diarrhoea and stomach pain. Symptoms usually last five to seven days, but in some cases, they can also last weeks. After contracting the bug, it may take several months for some people's bowel habits to go back to normal.

However, some people have no symptoms after they have been infected with shigella even if their faeces may still be contagious for a few weeks, explains the Mayo Clinic.

Shigella is very contagious and people get infected when they come in contact with and swallow small amounts of bacteria from the stool of a person who is infected with the disease.

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If you or your child have diarrhoea with blood that is severe enough to cause weight loss and dehydration, you should contact your doctor or seek urgent care. To avoid passing the illness on to other people, you should always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after going to the toilet.

You should also avoid going to work or school, swimming and preparing food until you have been free from any symptoms for at least 48 hours.

After contracting shigella, you should also wash all dirty clothes, bedding and towels on the hottest cycle of your washing machine, clean toilet seats and toilet bowls, flush handles, tap and sinks with detergent and hot water after use, followed by a household disinfectant.

It is also important to avoid sexual contact until you have been free of symptoms for at least 48 hours.

Chiara Fiorillo