1 dead after contagious strep A outbreak hits homeless shelters in Montreal
Regional public health officials have alerted the city's shelters to a recent surge in streptococcus A cases among homeless people in Montreal — an outbreak that has left at least one man dead.
The CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-et-de-l'Île-de-Montréal warned shelter operators Thursday to be vigilant after it confirmed six linked cases of an invasive group of streptococcus A had surfaced among the city's homeless population since March.
Dr. Noémie Savard of the CIUSS confirmed authorities are investigating two more related cases — including one that resulted in a second death.
But some frontline shelter workers said they believe there are more cases than have been reported to date.
Sam Watts, the CEO of Welcome Hall Mission— the shelter that first flagged the outbreak to regional health authorities in March— said the city's homeless are more at risk to contracting infections.
He said poor access to regular health care services and co-morbidities, like pre-existing skins conditions and diabetes, make them vulnerable to diseases such as this type of streptococcus A.
"It really creates a situation whereby a disease like streptococcus A, which might not have much of an effect on you or me has a major impact on somebody who could be living in the street or living in a precarious situation for a good part of their life," Watts said.
Watts said a nurse working with the Welcome Hall Mission, raised the flag, allowing the shelter to warn others of the outbreak.
Resources a concern, says CEO
However, while the city's largest shelters all have some rapid access to nurses and other health care services, Watts said smaller missions may not be as well equipped to identify people who showed symptoms.
"I think the larger concern is actually at some of the smaller resources, the people that are sheltering, you know, 10 people here or 14 people there. They may not be well enough equipped to identify a case when it presents itself."
"That population may be extremely vulnerable and not the kind of people who would normally frequent a hospital," said Watts.
He sais he thinks the streptococcus A outbreak should be a signal to the Quebec government that more resources need to be invested in frontline health care for homeless people.
"They're going to have to look closely at investing more in the way of resources at some of the frontline providers of healthcare services to the most disadvantaged," Watts said.
Deborah Bonney, a spokesperson for the CIUSS, said the regional health authority was "visiting the different installations" to assess what resources were available and "what the needs are."
"We're working with everyone and with the health care teams to see what procedures are in place," said Bonney.
"Obviously we're working with those networks given their experience working with that clientele. We're very aware and we work very closely with them," she said.
