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The emergence and spread of dysentery

Shigella sonnei is an important cause of bacterial dysentery in the developed world and has also recently emerged in transitional countries. Phylogenetic analysis based on whole-genome sequencing of a global sample has detailed the recent evolutionary history of this pathogen and shed light on the genetic changes associated with this epidemiological shift.

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Figure 1: Transmission of S. sonnei out of Europe.

Katie Vicari

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Correspondence to Edward J Feil.

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Feil, E. The emergence and spread of dysentery. Nat Genet 44, 964–965 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.2389

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