Island Health is reporting an outbreak of a highly contagious intestinal illness in the South Island\u2019s unhoused community. <\/p>\n
Shigellosis<\/a> is an infection caused by\u00a0Shigella\u00a0bacteria. It\u2019s an intestinal illness that spreads from an infected persons feces, through contaminated food, water, surfaces, or person to person.<\/p>\n The shigella bacteria can be stopped by simple hand washing, but with limited access to washrooms or toilets, a cluster of cases is growing within the homeless community. <\/p>\n Island Health is reporting five probable cases on the South Island right now, noting however, it\u2019s likely an undercount. <\/p>\n \u201cMore test results and investigations are underway and not all illnesses are reported to health care providers,\u201d the health authority said to CHEK News in a statement.<\/p>\n Shigella causes fever, diarrhea that may contain blood and\/or mucous, stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting, and an urge to pass stool.<\/p>\n \u201cOur mobile mission Victoria outreach team has actually seen in recent days, folks that are very ill in various encampments on the lower Island,\u201d said Nicole Mucci, spokesperson for the Union Gospel Mission.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat they\u2019re seeing is those that are quite ill and don\u2019t have access to healthcare are coming in to municipalities that have more services.\u201d<\/p>\n Island Health is already investigating to see if these cases are connected to a September outbreak in the Cowichan Valley.<\/p>\n Outbreaks reported beyond Vancouver Island<\/p>\n Outside of Island Health\u2019s catchment area, there have been outbreaks in B.C., and in other provinces.<\/p>\n Mucci, experienced a similar outbreak four years ago on Vancouver\u2019s Downtown East Side (DTES).<\/p>\n \u201cIt can be actually deadly and very dangerous,\u201d said Mucci. \u201cThe sickness just spread really really quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n In January this year there was an outbreak in Toronto<\/a>. <\/p>\n In Edmonton, there\u2019s been an outbreak of shigella on and off for years.<\/a> Alberta Health Services says it has identified 447 people\u00a0with Shigella\u00a0since August 2022 \u2014 309 of whom were hospitalized.<\/p>\n Bacteria, becoming antibiotic resistant<\/p>\n In healthy people, symptoms can resolve after a week, most, without medical intervention. But for those with more serious cases that need antibiotics doctors warn there\u2019s bad news: the stomach bug is getting more resistant to pills.<\/p>\n Drug-resistant shigella has been reported extensively in Europe, Australia and the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been cases of it in Seattle and we\u2019ll occasionally see it in Vancouver, but luckily it\u2019s not that well established,\u201d Dr. Aleksandra Stefanovic, a clinical professor at the University of British Columbia and a lead author of\u00a0a study<\/a>\u00a0looking into Shigella infections in the city between 2015 and 2022, told CBC in January.<\/p>\n The capital city\u2019s reluctance to help<\/p>\n