Lien DOI – https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37672-w
Nat Commun 14, 1983 (2023)
Shigella sonnei causes shigellosis, a severe gastrointestinal illness that is
sexually transmissible among men who have sex with men (MSM). Multidrug
resistance in S. sonnei is common including against World Health Organisation
recommended treatment options, azithromycin, and ciprofloxacin. Recently,
an MSM-associated outbreak of extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing,
extensively drug resistant S. sonnei was reported in the United Kingdom. Here,
we aimed to identify the genetic basis, evolutionary history, and international
dissemination of the outbreak strain. Our genomic epidemiological analyses of
3,304 isolates from the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, France, and the
United States of America revealed an internationally connected outbreak with
a most recent common ancestor in 2018 carrying a low-fitness cost resistance
plasmid, previously observed in travel associated sublineages of S. flexneri. Our
results highlight the persistent threat of horizontally transmitted antimicrobial
resistance and the value of continuing to work towards early and open inter-
national sharing of genomic surveillance data.