Shigella, a group of bacteria that causes intestinal infection, can spread through contaminated food and water, close contact and sexual activity. England's surveillance data show an increase in diagnoses potentially acquired through sexual contact, alongside high levels of resistance to antibiotics used to treat severe illness.
UK Health Security Agency figures recorded 2,560 diagnoses in its presumptive sexual-transmission group in 2025, up from 2,318 in 2024 and 2,052 in 2023. The classification is based on a surveillance proxy rather than confirmation of each person's sexual behaviour or how they acquired the infection.
