Portland sees increase in diseases spread by human waste

Shigella is a bacteria that spreads via fecal matter, and creates symptoms that include fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. It can last anywhere from three to 10 days.

“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, according to KOIN 6. “Shigella spreads very easily. Even a very small amount is enough to make someone sick.”

Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties have reported 45 cases of the bacteria in December, with nine different strains observed in the Portland metro area since October.

The Portland Police Bureau’s Central Bike Squad also joined in on the calls for awareness, making a post about hygiene on Instagram on Dec. 22.

Previously, Multnomah County discovered a "cluster" of drug-resistant shigella cases in November, with 16 cases found in the Portland metro area since September.

A total of 218 cases have been reported in 2023, with the county saying that the majority of strains penetrate the region by way of international travelers and “social-sexual networks.”

“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 explained to KOIN 6 News.

The county added that “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 reports that there are approximately 450,000 shigella infections in the United States every year. Health officials say that while most people will recover from the illness within a week or two, symptoms can sometimes last longer and be more critical to those with weakened immune systems.