Shigellosis - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2020

Shigellosis is a relatively uncommon disease in the EU/EEA, but remains of concern in some countries and for some population groups. For 2020, 29 EU/EEA countries reported 1 806 confirmed shigellosis cases. The overall notification rate was 0.7 cases per 100 000 population. This is the lowest rate reported in the past five years, possibly due to a combined effect of the absence of UK data after exit from the EU and the COVID-19 pandemic. The highest notification rate was observed in children under five years of age, followed by male adults aged 25–44 years. Sexual transmission of shigellosis among men who have sex with men (MSM) is thought to have contributed to the gender imbalance in the latter group.