Montreal Public Health says 45 shigellosis cases have been confirmed among unhoused people since late August, and some shelter workers say prevention measures are not enough.
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Shelter workers in Montreal say a severe stomach bug, shigellosis, has spread through the city’s homeless population and they are concerned that current containment measures are insufficient.
Shigellosis is a bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever. Public health officials say its transmission risk is increased by crowded shelter conditions and limited access to sanitary facilities.
Montreal Public Health said 45 shigellosis cases have been confirmed among the city’s homeless population since late August, while the city typically records about 150 cases annually across the entire population. The agency said its staff have been deployed to affected shelters to reinforce hygiene protocols.
Shelter workers expressed concern despite those efforts. At the Old Brewery Mission, one worker who asked not to be identified for job security said employees are not confident the situation is being taken seriously enough and that they do not feel supported.
Michelle Patenaude, executive director of CAP Saint-Barnabé, which operates three shelters in eastern Montreal, said her organization has taken precautions to curb spread, and that at one point she was forced to restrict access to some services. She said the shelters welcome particularly vulnerable people daily in collective environments where infection prevention is a major challenge.
L’Anonyme, a group that works with people in encampments, said it believes the situation is under control for now, but said basic hygiene advice from public health can be complicated for people living in tents.
Public health first flagged the problem in September and again in October. Santé Québec circulated an advisory on Oct. 26 to front-line medical staff and specialists warning of a rise in multidrug-resistant shigella among homeless people in the city’s east end, stressing the need for rapid reporting to help trace spread.
A spokesperson for Montreal Public Health, Geneviève Paradis, said it is “crucial” that infection-control measures do not restrict access to care, services and resources. William Hodgson, a spokesperson for the Old Brewery Mission, said the shelter is taking the situation “very seriously” and has been working with public health authorities.
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