PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Multnomah County is urging residents to practice good hygiene amid an uptick in shigella cases in Old Town Portland.
Shigella — a bacteria that is spread through fecal matter — can cause fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea, which can last three to 10 days, and can include blood, health officials warn.
“Shigella spreads when one person’s infected poop gets into another person’s mouth through food or water, from objects or surfaces with shigella bacteria on them, or during sex,” Multnomah County said. “Shigella spreads very easily. Even a very small amount is enough to make someone sick.”
In a Dec. 22 Instagram post spreading awareness of the illness, the Portland Police Bureau’s Central Bike Squad echoed calls for good hygiene and advised people who live and work in the area to not bring their shoes inside their homes or tents in order to prevent further spread of the bacteria.
In November, Multnomah County reported a “cluster” of drug-resistant shigella cases, with 16 cases reported in the Portland metro area since September.
The county said the illness has historically affected men who have sex with men, international travelers, and noted other outbreaks have occurred from food service and contaminated water.
In December, Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties have reported 45 cases, with multiple strains impacting case count, Multnomah County says — pointing out they have identified nine different strains of shigella in the Portland metro area since October.
In 2022, the tri-county area saw 150 reported shigella cases, with reported cases likely making up a “small fraction” of total cases, officials said.
So far in 2023, 218 cases have been reported, the county says, adding that most strains enter the region from international travelers and “social-sexual networks.”
The county says shigella among the homeless population is not typical but can easily spread among this group due to lack of access to hygiene and barriers to healthcare.
“Local disease patterns suggest that fecal-oral spread through sexual contact may account for between half and more than two thirds of all cases without international travel. The rest are typically attributed to other types of person-to-person spread including outbreaks among populations with lack of hygiene, shelter, and sanitation, and among people who use illicit substances,” county officials told KOIN 6 News.
The county pointed out “during 2020 a single strain of Shigella caused multiple clusters among men who have sex with men, persons experiencing homelessness, as well as causing outbreaks at a food cart, and separately, a healthcare facility. Multnomah County epidemiology immediately identified these shifts into defined outbreaks and were successful in stopping illness spread from the food cart as well as within the healthcare facility.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are 450,000 shigella infections in the United States every year.
Most people with the illness are better within one to two weeks; however, symptoms can last longer and be more serious for people with weakened immune systems, health officials said.
Health experts say the bacteria can live for up to four weeks in poop and warn that people can still spread the illness even if their symptoms are better.
To prevent the spread of shigella, officials urge community members to maintain good hygiene by showering and washing their hands often with soap and clean water after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and before making or eating food.