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Portland, Oregon has a serious homeless problem and now it’s about to get worse. Much worse. The disease of Shigella is spreading in the city, mostly through the homeless population, and to make matters worse, it spreads in a disgusting way, through fecal matter. Aside from the ethical matter of allowing people to live on the street, one of the biggest issues is the threat to public health. This is why you don’t want a large population of people living in tents and using streets as a bathroom. FOX News reports: Portland health officials report waste-borne illness rampant among city’s...

A highly contagious infection that is spread through tiny particles of fecal matter has broken out in Portland - with officials warning that the homeless population are most at risk of catching the illness. Shigella is a bacteria that spreads through human feces. People transmit the infection after getting the microbes on their hands and then touching their mouths. People can also spread the intestinal infection through sexual intercourse. Multnomah County in Oregon has warned that homeless people and same-sex male partners are most at risk because of their lack of access to hygienic facilities. In the last month, 45...

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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Multnomah County is encouraging residents to watch their hygiene after a boost in shigella cases was observed in Old Town Portland. 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...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning about a rise in extensively drug-resistant cases of the bacterial infection Shigella, a major cause of inflammatory diarrhea. The agency calls the new form of the stomach bug, which causes the diarrheal condition known as shigellosis, a “serious public health threat.” Evidence suggests the illness is spreading among gay and bisexual men in particular, apparently through sexual contact, both in the U.S. and abroad. The CDC held a call Tuesday with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the U.K. Health Security Agency to alert doctors about the spread...

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a health advisory to warn the public of an increase of a drug-resistant bacteria called Shigella. There are limited antimicrobial treatments available for these particular drug-resistant strains of Shigella and it’s also easily transmissible, warned the CDC in the Friday advisory. It’s also able to spread antimicrobial resistance genes to other bacteria that infect the intestines. Shigella infections known as shigellosis can cause a fever, abdominal cramping, tenesmus and diarrhea that is bloody. The bacteria can be spread by a fecal-oral route, person-to-person contact, and contaminated food and water. While...

Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services: Public and Environmental Health officials are working to contain local cases of the gastrointestinal illness Shigella bacteria, after three lab-confirmed cases and two more suspected cases infected Eureka residents during the past month. The cases span multiple households, infecting school-age children and adults, including a person experiencing homelessness. Officials believe the virus may have been spread through one or more Eureka laundromats, after an infected person washed contaminated clothing at the facility.

Jennifer Millar keeps trash bags and hand sanitizer near her tent, and she regularly pours water mixed with hydrogen peroxide on the sidewalk nearby. Keeping herself and the patch of concrete she calls home clean is a top priority. But this homeless encampment off a Hollywood freeway ramp is often littered with needles and trash and soaked in urine. Rats occasionally scamper through, and Millar fears the consequences. Infectious diseases—some that ravaged populations in the Middle Ages—are resurging in California and around the country, and are hitting homeless populations especially hard. Los Angeles recently experienced an outbreak of typhus—a disease...

At least 19 people were hospitalized as of Monday (July 2) after eating food that had been contaminated by exposure to feces at a neighborhood potluck birthday party in Charlotte N.C., the Charlotte Observer reported. More than 40 people were sickened and more could become ill with a "highly contagious" disease called shigella, which causes diarrhea. Someone who prepared food for Saturday's party, which was attended by about 100 people, did not wash their hands well enough...

NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Investigators with the Orange County Health Department were working Friday to determine what may have caused several people to get sick after eating at an upscale Newport Beach restaurant. KNX 1070’s Ron Kilgore reports authorities say six diners came down with the intestinal bacteria Shigella after eating at the True Food The self-billed healthy living restaurant was shut down on Aug. 28 for two days over what county inspectors labeled an “imminent health risk” due to at least one confirmed case of Shigella. Following the closure, True Food reopened after the entire restaurant was sanitized and...

BENTON COUNTY, Ark. —The Benton County Health Department is cracking down after a food-poisoning outbreak at the Walmart home office cafe

Consumers should not eat one brand of baby carrots sold recently at Costco stores because of contamination by shigella, which causes fever, nausea and vomiting, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has warned. The carrots are labelled Los Angeles Salad Company Genuine Sweet Baby Carrots, and they come from Mexico. Costco has issued a voluntary recall of the carrots, which are known to have made four people sick. They were sold in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland. The carrots are sold in 672-gram bags, carrying these codes: ITM 50325, and UPC 8 31129 00137 7. The sell-by dates are...

<p>BOSTON — The revelation last week that a laboratory slip-up led three Boston University scientists to become infected with tularemia, a flulike disease sometimes referred to as "rabbit fever," has fueled criticism of a plan to build a state-of-the-art research lab to study some of the world's most lethal germs in Boston's South End.</p>