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Shigella outbreak returns after 5 new Edmonton cases: AHS

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Five Edmontonians have been hospitalized with shigella since mid-February, Alberta Health Services announced on Friday.

AHS reopened the Edmonton Zone's shigella outbreak on Thursday after the five cases were identified since the outbreak was closed on Feb. 16.

Since August, there have been 211 shigella cases and 144 hospitalizations in Edmonton.

No one has died.

Shigella is spread through contact with contaminated fecal matter or food, AHS said, and symptoms include diarrhea, fever, nausea and stomach cramps.

"The majority of the cases to date are within the city’s inner-city population, so the risk to the general public remains low," AHS said in a statement on Friday

AHS has worked with local shelters and inner-city agencies and created a task force to coordinate resources.

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