Shigella bacteremia in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Bacteremic infection with Shigella species is extremely rare in adults. We report five cases of Shigella bacteremia in adult men that occurred at our hospital over a 2-yr period. Four of these cases occurred in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The fifth patient had evidence of cell-mediated immunodeficiency, but did not meet Centers for Disease Control criteria for the acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Shigellemia is a potentially fatal but treatable complication of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome and should be specifically tested for and aggressively treated when present in this patient population.