Shigella outbreak in Edmonton’s inner city put 115 people in hospital

Since the first case of Shigella was diagnosed on Aug. 29, Alberta Health Services says 173 people have contracted the disease, 115 of whom required hospitalization.

In October, AHS reached out to the City of Edmonton and launched a task force to plan a coordinated outbreak response.

The outbreak primarily affects members of Edmonton’s downtown population, AHS said in a news release Thursday. No deaths related to this outbreak have been reported.

“We recognize that the case numbers in this outbreak are alarming and we are doing everything we can to care for this vulnerable population, including coordinating additional resources and support in the inner city,” said Dr. Michael Zakhary, AHS Edmonton Zone medical officer of said. health.

“Fortunately, we are starting to see a turn in the curve of case numbers.”

Shigella is a disease commonly associated with diarrhea, as well as fever, nausea and stomach cramps. It can cause serious illness, leading to hospitalization, and it spreads when someone comes into contact with faecal material from an infected person and also by eating food contaminated with the bacteria.

AHS and the City of Edmonton worked with downtown shelters, agencies and partners and the province on an outbreak response. The task force meets weekly.

Throughout September, AHS teams contacted shelters, agencies and local family physicians about “the growing cluster of cases.” AHS’s Environmental Public Health Team made regular visits to shelters to provide advice and guidance. In early October, AHS reached out to the city for support. In mid-October, AHS launched a task force to coordinate resources and a response.

The task force distributed outbreak information handouts as well as 500 personal care kits. The city expanded the operation of temporary mobile washrooms (some with showers and laundry facilities), extended hours and expanded access to existing hygiene sites at shelters in the city center, conducted outreach and testing across several camps and distributed donations of clean clothes.

“The number of Edmontonians experiencing homelessness has doubled during the pandemic,” said Christel Kjenner, the city’s director of affordable housing and homelessness. “Existing agencies struggle to keep up with the demand for services for vulnerable community members. We are working closely with AHS and our community partners to limit the spread of this disease.”

LISTEN: Dr. Louis Francescutti talks to Shaye Ganam, October 20, 2022.

In mid-October, when 87 cases were identified, a prominent local doctor called for more to be done to get homeless people into stable housing.

“Shigella is an infectious disease that we see in third world countries or after earthquakes, disasters or floods,” said Dr. Louis Francescutti, a professor of public health at the University of Alberta and emergency physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and Northeastern Community Health Centre, said.

“We have third world medical conditions in the middle of Edmonton in 2022. Totally unacceptable.”

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.