As images and stories are circulating of Canadian immigrants defecating on public beaches, parking lots, and sidewalks, Alberta’s two most populous cities have been struck with an unusual outbreak of a highly infectious illness called shigella, which is generally only found in third-world countries.

Alberta health officials have announced that outbreaks of the gastrointestinal illness have been ravaging Edmonton and Calgary among mostly homeless individuals.

“It’s just challenges with meeting basic hygiene needs and with people more likely coming into group settings,” said Dr. David Klassen of Alberta Health Services (AHS).  

Fecal-oral transmission is one way in which the bacteria can spread, making it easy for the disease to spread among those who live in unsanitary conditions.

To date, 65 individuals have tested positive in Calgary with the potentially fatal condition that causes diarrhea, cramps, vomiting, and dehydration. Sixteen of these individuals required hospitalization.

Klassen further said the AHS is working with agencies connected to homeless shelters to provide guidance and personal hygiene kits. 

Since 2022, Edmonton has had 424 cases of shigella, 294 of which required hospitalization. 

Public defecation on the rise

The development comes amid a disturbing discovery in Canada, that being images of immigrants defecating in public. One video from Niagara in Ontario, which houses a significant number of refugee claimants, shows a man defecating on a sidewalk, then laughing. 

Warning: Disgusting footage below

Another video that went viral on social media shows an Indian man at a gas station defecating at a gas pump into a cup, proceeding to dump his excrement next to the pump. 

Earlier this month, a story went viral that details how it’s become common for certain ethnic Indians to defecate on public beaches in the sand. The popular tourist spot known as Wasaga Beach was pinpointed as one of the more popular spots for the grotesque behaviour.  

The connection between the outbreak and the viral stories of public defecation remains unclear.

Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Alberta, told CBC that “there have been increasing outbreaks of shigella described across North America over the last years.”

“The fact that it’s occurring in a lot of inner-city populations and other crowded circumstances is, in a way, a negative sign of the times to me.”