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Treatment of shigellosis

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Mild form of the disease is usually self-limiting and no treatment is necessary. However, it is important to maintain fluid balance with clear oral fluids, or in more severe cases intravenous infusion.

  • seek expert microbiology advice
  • antibiotic treatment is not required for all cases of shigellosis
  • cases with prolonged symptoms or complications may require antibiotics
    • commonly used antibiotics include macrolides, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, sulphonamides, trimethoprim, tetracycline, and third-generation cephalosporins (1,2)
    • in the UK, note that the among GBMSM, the proportion of all Shigella spp. isolates that are multi-drug resistant, or XDR (extensively drug resistant) is very high, often exceeding 90% (2)

A review suggests (3):

The severely ill or those at the extremes of life may be given antibiotic treatment

  • preferred therapy – azithromycin, ceftriaxone
  • alternative agents - ciprofloxacin, cefixime (3)

Reference:

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