As the cold winter season drags on, the houseless community faces another dire threat. 

On Feb. 8, the County of Santa Cruz released a health alert about four confirmed cases of Shigella sonnei, or shigellosis, among houseless people in the county.

Three weeks later, the county reported 16 lab-confirmed cases and 11 under investigation, totalling 27 cases in Santa Cruz County. All but three cases were found in houseless people; the rest were from individuals who interacted with them. 

Dr. David Ghilarducci, the Deputy Health Officer for Santa Cruz County Public Health, says approximately 80 percent of shigellosis cases in the City of Santa Cruz are around the area of Harvey West Park. Other cases have spread in Watsonville, near the Pajaro River Levee.

“At this time the risk to the broader community is low,” said Santa Cruz county health officer Dr. Lisa Hernandez in the Feb. 29 update about the outbreak. “But people can protect themselves from Shigella by washing their hands with soap and water carefully and frequently, especially after using the bathroom, after changing diapers, and before preparing and consuming foods or beverages.”

Press Release Shigella Outbreak Feb 29
People can get the Shigella infection by:

  • Getting Shigella bacteria on their hands and then touching their food or mouth. This can happen after:
    • Touching surfaces contaminated with Shigella.
    • Eating food prepared by someone who has a Shigella infection (shigellosis).
    • Swallowing recreational water (for example, lake or river water) while swimming or drinking water that is contaminated with the Shigella bacteria.
    • Changing the diaper of a sick child or caring for a sick person.

According to the County Health Alerts, Shigella symptoms include bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, and malaise. Symptoms can last five to seven days and are more severe in young children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. More dire symptoms can include bacteremia, dehydration, and seizures.

Shigellosis is tested through stool samples and treated using antibiotics. Those tested for shigellosis are recommended to get tested for HIV and STDs, and syphilis, as co-infections are common according to the County Health Alert.

Although most cases are concentrated around Harvey Park, Dr. Ghilarducci warns about the risk of spread on campus. 

“If we let our guard down, it could break out in the UCSC community,” said Dr. Ghilarducci.  “Especially because you have a lot of congregational living situations up on campus with dormitories.”

However, Dr. Ghilarducci reassures that proper hand washing is an easy and effective precaution.

The starting point – Harvey West

According to Brent Adams, program director of the Warming Center, the outbreak began in Santa Cruz’s Harvey West Park.

Harvey West Park was previously home to an Agreement Camp, one of three that existed in the city from Dec. 2020 to May 2021, where residents agreed to sign a code of conduct to stay. Adams said community agreements were established in these camps to keep tidy, prevent trespassing into unintentional host neighborhoods, and establish community. The Warming Center provided toilet paper, baby wipes, and shower trailers to the agreement camps at no cost, and helped manage waste within the camp. 

In May 2021, the City reclaimed the park for public use, shutting down the agreement camp and sending houseless residents to the Benchlands. The camp that exists at Harvey West Park no longer represents the agreement camp of three years ago.

“[The camp is] not organized at all,” said Adams. “There is no community; without a code of agreements, it’s unworkable.”

This is not the first time the houseless population in Santa Cruz was affected by a disease outbreak. In 2017, a statewide hepatitis A outbreak reached Santa Cruz with a total of 76 confirmed cases in Feb. 2018. Both Shigellosis and hepatitis A are contagious gastrointestinal diseases and can be spread through the fecal-oral route. 

When it comes to preventing these kinds of outbreaks, Adams calls for more community accountability and care. 

“Are we taking enough responsibility as residents?” Adams asked. “Anybody who’s sleeping in this city, inside or outside, are our neighbors and we’re not taking good enough care of ourselves as a community […] we turn our backs on them. If we started orienting towards our neighbors who are in most need and insisting we take better care of them, we wouldn’t see this outbreak.”