Shigellosis in refugees, Austria, July to November 2015

Euro Surveill. 2015;20(48):30081. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2015.20.48.30081.

Abstract

We report on a cluster of shigellosis including 21 cases in refugees and two in local residents who worked in refugee transit centres, detected in Austria in 2015, between calendar weeks 29 and 47. The species isolated from the cluster cases, including one mixed infection, were S. sonnei (n = 13), S. flexneri (n = 10) and S. boydii (n = 1). Eleven of 18 tested isolates were extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-positive, including five of six ciprofloxacin-resistant and three azithromycin-resistant isolates.

Keywords: Austria; Shigella; antimicrobial resistance; bacterial infections; epidemiology; food-borne infections; hand hygiene; refugees; shigellosis; syndromic surveillance.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Austria / epidemiology
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial*
  • Dysentery, Bacillary / diagnosis
  • Dysentery, Bacillary / drug therapy*
  • Dysentery, Bacillary / microbiology
  • Feces / microbiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Middle Aged
  • Refugees*
  • Shigella / classification
  • Shigella / drug effects*
  • Shigella / enzymology
  • Shigella / isolation & purification
  • Young Adult
  • beta-Lactamases / metabolism

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • beta-Lactamases