UVA Health seeing cases of drug-resistant stomach illness

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The CDC and doctors at UVA Health are warning of an increase of drug-resistant strains of a stomach bug.

Shigella is an infectious bacteria that can lead to an upset stomach, as well as a fever.

Doctor Bill Petri, an infectious disease expert with UVA, says the bacteria becomes more resistant to antibiotics every year.

This year’s XDR strain is hard to treat, and Dr. Petri says they’ve seen some cases at UVA Health.

“The good part about this is quite often you don’t need antibiotics to cure Shigella. It’s enough to just sort of keep up with fluids and rehydrate, and then antibiotics will help shorten the duration of illness by a couple of days. So it’s not a catastrophe, but it’s a problem,” he said.

Dr. Petri says the bacteria is usually orally spread, but it can be found on chicken, ground beef, and some vegetables.

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