Montreal Public Health looks to fight back against rise in shigella infections – CBC

Officials say sexual transmission more common, bacteria becoming drug resistant

Nov 21, 2022

Montreal Public Health says shigella is being spread locally through sexual contact and the bacteria is evolving to be more drug resistant.

Now the health authority is updating its recommended protocols for combating the potentially dangerous bacterial infection.

Shigella is a bacteria that infects the intestines and usually spreads via the fecal-oral route. That means it can be transmitted when the mouth comes into contact with something like food or a finger that has shigella-contaminated stool on it.

Symptoms of shigellosis include persistent diarrhea, bloody stool, stomach cramps, vomiting and fever.

For most people, the infection goes away on its own with rest and drinking plenty of water. But infection can lead to hospitalization, as has been seen in Edmonton where there were 172 confirmed cases as of Wednesday and 115 ended up in hospital.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/shigella-montreal-transmission-1.6659649