Oregon officials have embraced homelessness so much that last April, my colleague Mike LaChance reported that Democrats in the state proposed a law that would expand the rights of homeless people by decriminalizing encampments and allowing homeless people to sue if they feel harassed.
As a result of poor policy and a disregard for true public health and safety concerns, the most populous city in that state is now experiencing a bacterial outbreak found usually in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
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 cases have been found in Portland, bringing the total from 2023 to 218. The influx of infections were reported among unhoused people in downtown Portland’s Old Town neighborhood.
Shigella infections lead to profuse diarrhea, fever, and stomach pains…and these symptoms can last for weeks. Sometimes, bowel habits (frequency and stool consistency) do not return to normal for several months. And, as an added bonus, in addition to being spread by fecal matter, Shigella can be transmitted via sexual contact.
The bacteria, which causes about 450,000 infections nationally leading to about $93 million in direct medical costs, is spread in a variety of ways—from transferring bacteria from hands to mouth after touching objects, to a transfer from fecal matter through male sexual intercourse.Symptoms include bloody or prolonged diarrhea that can last more than three days, fevers, stomach pains and feeling an urge to pass a stool when the bowels are empty.”While we are currently seeing an increase in Shigella cases in the Portland metro area, the risk to the broader public remains low at this time and there are no measures for most folks to take at this time,” Multnomah County Deputy Health Officer Teresa Everson said in a statement shared with Newsweek. “The best thing we can all do to prevent both respiratory viral illness and diarrheal illness is to keep practicing good hand hygiene.”
Even more disturbing is the news that a “cluster” of these infections was resistant to the antibiotic treatments used for Shigella.
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.
Portland essentially has become a third-world country.
I will conclude this post by making another prediction for 2024: That the “Greater Idaho” movement gains even more Oregon counties. “Utopia” generally contains less fecal matter and infectious diseases.
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