Shift in serotype distribution of Shigella species in China, 2003–2013

Abstract

We identified 2912 Shigella isolates from diarrhoeal patients in China during 2003-2013. The most common species was Shigella flexneri (55.3%), followed by Shigella sonnei (44.1%); however, S. sonnei is becoming increasingly prevalent. Among the S. flexneri isolates, serotypes 2a and X variant (-:7,8, E1037) were the two most prevalent serotypes, and serologically atypical isolates were also commonly identified. Overall, S. sonnei, S. flexneri 2a and S. flexneri X variant (-:7,8, E1037) accounted for 76.1% of all Shigella isolates, and their prevalence increased from 54.0% during 2003-2004 to 84.1% during 2011-2013. A change was observed in the serotype distribution of Shigella in China during this period, and we propose an ideal strategy to inform the development of a broadly effective Shigella vaccine candidate.

Shigella Diversity and Changing Landscape: Insights for the Twenty-First Century

“…Recent epidemiological studies conducted around the world have discovered a rise in the proportion of S. sonnei isolates compared to S. flexneri . The expansion of S. sonnei can clearly be observed from clinical surveillance studies conducted in China which show the proportion of S. sonnei isolates increasing from 17.4% in 2003–2004 to 58.2% less than a decade later, closely following the rapid industrialization in China (Figure 2 ; Mao et al, 2013 ; Qiu et al, 2015 ). Noticeably, regions that had undergone significant industrialization reported decreases in S. flexneri and increasing cases of S. sonnei compared to under developed areas where flexneri levels remain high (Qiu et al, 2015 ).…”

Relative transmissibility of shigellosis among male and female individuals: a modeling study in Hubei Province, China

“…Thus, further research is required to explore the transmission characteristics of Hubei Province. Numerous studies have indicated that Shigella consists of four species, namely dysenteriae, boydii, flexneri, and sonnei, among which the final two are the most common in low-and middle-income countries [36,43,44]. In our study, the dataset was obtained from routine infectious disease surveillance of the CDC in Hubei Province with no reported information regarding the Shigella species.…”

Serotype Distribution and Antimicrobial Resistance of Shigella Species in Bangui, Central African Republic, from 2002 to 2013

“…The lack of data from Central Africa and from very low-income countries, such as CAR, 6 which suffers from long-term instability, highlights the need to improve our understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of (sub-)serotypes in sub-Saharan Africa. 7,8 Central African Republic is a resource-limited country in equatorial Africa (ranked 180/187 according to the Human Development Index in 2013). Here, we describe the (sub-)serotype distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility of Shigella species isolated from patients in CAR during the 2002-2013 period.…”