A sexually transmitted disease that triggers severe diarrhoea is a 'growing and urgent public health threat', experts have warned - as cases continue to rise in the UK.
Researchers have found that sexually transmitted shigellosis - a sometimes deadly bacterial infection which has risen in prevalence by a quarter in England since 2023 - is becoming 'virtually untreatable'.
Shigellosis, a gut infection, is caused by shigella bacteria - a group of four germs that cause diarrhoea - and is mainly transmitted through consuming food prepared by an infected person or touching surfaces contaminated with faeces.
However scientists have today revealed it is increasingly being spread via sexual acts, increasingly between gay and bisexual men.
This is because the bacteria can also be contracted if an individual comes into contact with faeces, which can happen during anal sex.
