Show links:
Oregon Capitol Chronicle Article 1
Oregon Capitol Chronicle 2
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MICHAEL DUNNE: I'm Michael Dunne. Since COVID, we've all become somewhat battle-scarred when it comes to stories about pathogens and infections, and right now, a new bacteriological pathogen is spreading amongst the community, especially amongst those who live unhoused. It's small now, but it does have the ability to grow and become a much larger issue. Today, on the show, we check in with Lane County Medical Director, Dr Patrick Luedtke, and check up on what public health issues are impacting our region, both positively and negatively. Then in the second half of the show, we'll talk with a reporter at The Oregon Capitol Chronicle about two recent meetings she attended with Governor Kotek and Senator Wyden as they address nonprofits and business leaders regarding funding cuts and tariffs from the Trump administration and their impact on Oregon. Dr Patrick Luedtke, Lane County's Medical Director, always great to talk to you. Thanks so much for coming in.
DR. LUEDTKE: Michael, wonderful to be here.
MICHAEL DUNNE: So, we've been seeing some reports about a bacteria called Shigella. What is it?
DR. LUEDTKE: So, it is a bacterium. In the world of small critters, there's bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites. So, this is a bacteria, and it's almost exclusively found in humans, unfortunately, and it could cause severe disease. So just like humans, we have a genus and a species, Homo sapiens, right? So, homo is the genus Sapiens, is the species. Shigella has four species, so we are seeing two of them, Shigella Sonyeye and Shigella Flexner.
MICHAEL DUNNE: What are the symptoms? What are the potential bad things that happen if you contract these bacteria?
DR. LUEDTKE: Yes. So, it hangs out in your intestines, and therefore you get nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Okay. Now, what's unique about these bacteria, although there are a few others that do it, but norovirus, the cruise ship virus, and others don't do this. It can invade the lining of your intestines. So, you don’t just get diarrhea, you get bloody diarrhea. Sorry, it's no fun talking about this, sure. And you can also get white blood cells and pus and those sorts of things. You get yucky stuff. Then anything that can invade and get into the bloodstream, then can spread through your whole body, so it can cause severe disease, especially in people who are immunocompromised.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Okay, give us some context around what you're seeing. How big of a threat is this kind of thing.
DR. LUEDTKE: So, this is not a surprise, because the Portland metro area has had a pretty large outbreak, over 200 cases now for about the last year, and we saw our first case linked to the Portland metro area. There's a lot of Commerce on I-Five, right? And we thought we're probably going to see a case, so we've been trying to get the community aware. And we saw our first case connected to it in March. And now we have 18 confirmed cases in Lane County, 11 of which were severe enough in their infection to be hospitalized. So, this is not a minor annoyance, okay, like the cruise ship virus, where you feel yucky for, you know, a day or two, and then you go back to your normal activities, this can be a real problem.
MICHAEL DUNNE: How is it spread?
So, it's typically food, water and person to person, okay? And
DR. LUEDTKE: There are, there's nowhere near as many Shigella infections each year as there are norovirus. For example, there's millions in the United States alone of norovirus, we'll see 1000s of these Shigella cases. And in Lane County all of last year, we only had 12 cases in the whole year, So, seeing 18 already in 2025 is a bit eye opening.
MICHAEL DUNNE: If I read correctly, some of the victims of this were the homeless in our community? Do the conditions of people who live unhoused mean that they are more susceptible to an infection like Shigella?
DR. LUEDTKE: Absolutely. And that's really a key insight. So, this is really easy to kill bacteria just with soap and water or even hand sanitizer. Unfortunately, if you're houseless, you don't often have access to hand washing and hand sanitizer. So that's one issue. And then the other issue is, as I alluded to earlier, the immunocompromised are at a higher risk for severe disease, as are some people who are on the streets. Also, maybe you don't have access to your medicines. Maybe you're diabetic, and you're not accessing your insulin, which can affect your immune system if your blood sugar is too high, so they're at an increased risk too.
MICHAEL DUNNE: With seeing cases of Shigella, does that portend other problems as well other bacteriological critters, as you describe them, popping up?
DR. LUEDTKE: I think that's a really good thought. I don't want to be a fear monger here, but sure, there are many organisms spread through this route of contaminated food, contaminated water or personal hygiene that people can't wash their hands, and that includes E coli, Salmonella, other organisms that you everybody, all the listeners, have heard about. So yes, there are risks for these others as well. The biggest reason we're really concerned about Shigella in the public health space, is the clinical spaces that can cause severe disease. We're concerned that in the public health space, Shigella only takes a tiny number of organisms to infect somebody, so as low as 10 bacteria. Now, to put that in perspective, most everybody's heard of typhoid fever, which is a salmonella bacteria. You have to ingest maybe 100,000 salmonella bacteria to get typhoid Shigella. It takes 10 so you have to be really fastidious. You have to be really clean to prevent it from spreading to others.
MICHAEL DUNNE: And that leads me to my next question, what should people do? You know, in terms of, you talked about hygiene, and then my assumption is, is that, because its bacteriological, antibiotics are the treatment?
DR. LUEDTKE: So, most people will get over this on their own. If somebody has a significant infection, like they're hospitalized, or they have HIV, they're immunocompromised, we will treat them with antibiotics, but most people don't need antibiotics, which is a good thing. So, two parts, there's the prevention part - washing your hands. If anything has been around diarrhea, like linens, go wash them. You know, at a hot temperature, typically 120 or above will kill this, which is a standard water temperature anyway, for people who have a water heater. And the second part is, if you have a confirmed Shigella case, there are several things we want you to not do. So don't prepare food for others and wait at least two weeks until after your GI problems have stopped, before you go back to work, back to school, back to a food service industry. And the reason being, again, is because it takes so few bacteria to cause infection, we want to make sure that you're not shedding any more of that bacteria.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Let me quickly reintroduce you to the audience. We're talking as we often talk with Dr Patrick Luedke Lane, County's Medical Director. I'm going to switch gears a little bit. We do a lot of shows about impacts from the federal government cuts. We've read all about, you know, cuts to NIH and other things. I'm just wondering from a county level, are you seeing any impacts to public health because of health cuts at the federal level?
DR. LUEDTKE: Oh, my, that is quite a question. So we are, I would say we are seeing probably three tiers of impacts. The first is relative concern, relative fear. How are we going to continue serving people who are in need? How are we going to continue assessing the population? The second is looking at the requirements around our grants, because there are changes you probably are familiar with the Supreme Court decision around Harvard and UNC University of North Carolina. So that has impacts across all governmental agencies, whether it's local, state or federal. So, we're trying to work with our county council through that. And then finally, the financial impacts. So, some grants have been cut. Some laboratories at the CDC have been closed completely. What are we going to do for confirmatory testing for hepatitis? For example, the hepatitis lab was closed at the CDC. So how are we going to make sure if we find a case of hepatitis, is that case linked to another case of hepatitis? Most labs only do the basic testing you confirm its Hepatitis A or B or C, but there are genetic changes, and you have a have to have to have a special lab that will say this one is linked to that one which is linked to this food which should be recalled, and only special labs do that testing. So, we're working through that part too. So clearly, there are impacts, and maybe some more impacts to come.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Doctor my last question for you is this: We're talking in April, that great transition period between winter and spring, and from a public health perspective, are there changes you start to see now, for better or worse, as the weather gets warmer?
DR. LUEDTKE: Oh, my so this is a great question. I'm smiling as I respond, because we absolutely look at it month by month. So, this is the time of year, people tend to go outside more where they're doing yard work, or they're going to get on those hiking boots and go do some longer hikes. And it's not as if ticks, for example, are not out there in January, they are. It's just that not as many people are out so now, we're starting tick season, so we start to think about Lyme disease, and mosquitoes will be starting soon enough. So, then we start to think of the West Nile virus. Also, people start to have backyard cookouts and such. So, the disease outbreaks related to a pasta salad sitting out in the sun for too long, and the bacteria grow and people getting food borne infections, we started to prepare for that too. So, we absolutely look at seasonal things like the items I mentioned.
MICHAEL DUNNE: And then on the positive side of the ledger, less seasonal flu starting now.
DR. LUEDTKE: Oh, that's exactly right. So, we are watching the flu right off into the distance, and we are not seeing any scary stuff on the horizon. With worldwide surveillance, we're watching RSV march off into the sunset. COVID was very mild this year overall, and it's not as if it's gone, but we're down to about 200 deaths per week in America from COVID, which is sad still. It's still sad that there's a few 100, but sure it's, you know, significantly lower than it was a year or two ago.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Dr Patrick Luedke, the medical director for Lane County, always appreciate you coming in and chatting with us.
DR. LUEDTKE I enjoy it as well. Michael, thank you.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Let's check in now with the Oregon Capitol Chronicle, which has covered several meetings with the Oregon Governor and senior US senator, and reports about what they're telling a nervous and anxious nonprofit and business community. Alex Baumhardt, who is a senior reporter at The Oregon Capitol Chronicle, is always great to talk to you.
ALEX BAUMHARDT: Thanks so much for having me.
MICHAEL DUNNE: I read your two most recent pieces, and I think our audience will learn a lot from them, because you're talking about some of the shocks to the system, from budget cuts and slashes to agencies from the federal government. Your article where you have business leaders talking with the governor, and then Senator Wyden is talking to nonprofits like Meals on Wheels. Give us a general overview of these two articles, talking to, you know, local, very important governmental officials here in Oregon, responding to, it sounds like real fear and uncertainty about cuts from the federal government.
ALEX BAUMHARDT: Yeah, I think both of them sort of address this fallout from, I think primarily you know when it comes to cuts, especially to nonprofits and services, services that are very heavily relied on by seniors, right, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Meals on Wheels, the sort of fallout from gutting these agencies that oversee these programs, and on the tariff side, sort of the fallout for small and medium sized businesses. We see a lot of these bigger companies, tech companies, getting a pass on tariffs from countries like China. I think it's surpassed 150% at this point. So, I think the point of that article was, really, what is this doing to the middle, the middle economy, which is, of course, in Oregon, the thrust of the economy. It's the small manufacturers, it's the agricultural producers, its ports, it's, the fact that we do an enormous amount of trade in Oregon and globally. So, I think both of those articles sort of speak to some of the fallout from decisions being made in DC, where our local electeds are sort of trying to get people together at the table and tell them what might be coming, and then, more importantly, maybe hear from them what they're actually experiencing on the ground.
MICHAEL DUNNE: And so, two questions from that. The first is, with the folks that you talk to, whether it's the business leaders or nonprofit leaders, or people who are deriving services from these nonprofits - talk about their mood. We hear a lot about fear and uncertainty. Talk about what you experience talking with them.
ALEX BAUMHARDT: I think a lot of people are sort of like, I would say, you know, at the event with Widen talking with seniors and Meals on Wheels representatives, and sort of, maybe talking more broadly about some of the threats to social services that seniors rely on, there was sort of a sense of, like disbelief. I don't think a lot of people imagined that they'd be wondering if there'll be a disruption to their social security check, if they would get their weekly delivery from Meals on Wheels. A lot of the folks that were in the room are veterans. You know, a lot of people who are seniors now who are lining up for services are veterans. I think a lot of them feel a deep sense of incredulity. Like they certainly won't take these services from veterans, right? So, I think there's sort of a sense of, like whiplash and disbelief. I think on the business side, perhaps a little of that too. I think there's a lot of people who have sort of this, maybe more fiscally conservative, broadly economic value template that guides them when they go to the ballot box, and they're feeling a little bit betrayed by some of those politicians that might have in the past espoused more market friendly, fiscally conservative policies and ideas. So, I think on both sides of the spectrum, there's a little bit this wasn't supposed to happen like this. And then more broadly, confusion and frustration, especially for the business owners. I think I got a sense that the idea of tariffs and bringing manufacturing back to the US, maybe forcing that a little was not entirely unpalatable. What was, was the speed at which it was happening. And this sort of callousness for the small guys, the idea that, you know, even a major manufacturer in Oregon is not the same as a mini major manufacturer in another state. And if you need three to five years to even start to bring some of that back to the United States, these tariffs don't give anybody three to five years.
MICHAEL DUNNE: So obviously, Governor Kotek was in the room with, in one of the stories that you filed, as well as Senator Wyden in another room with the second story that you filed. I'm wondering, so a governor for Oregon and then the senior senator from Oregon. What were saying to business leaders, nonprofit leaders, service recipients from nonprofits? What were these elected leaders telling them about, both what is happening and perhaps what they're going to try and do about it?
ALEX BAUMHARDT: I would say both of them spent the bulk of these round tables listening and information gathering so that they could go back to, you know, maybe the state legislature, or to the Congress, and say, hey, this is what I'm hearing on the ground. The governor has less power, I think, to do much at this point besides soften the economic blow. I don't know what she's cooking up. It was sort of vague but that we're resilient, we can get through this. Senator Wyden did mention that when Congress is back in session, he and the senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul, will introduce some measure that is supposed to give congressional strength to repealing the tariffs.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Was there any talk about, okay, well, is it possible that the state can step in to provide funding or help with this? Were there conversations about, okay, if we can't rely on the federal government, we have to find money elsewhere.
ALEX BAUMHARDT: I didn't get the impression that that was what was being put on the table. I think I walked away from the Governor thinking, you know, the best you can do is try to appeal to higher powers who can maybe make this less painful for these businesses. But, I mean, you're talking about some of these medium Oregon businesses having lost already. I mean, I heard from one the other day that's lost half a million dollars in profit in the last month. Multiply that by who knows the next two months, if or three months or a year, there's no way the state can come in and do anything about that.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Let me reintroduce you to the audience. We're talking to Alex Baumhardt. She is the Senior Reporter at the Oregon Capitol Chronicle. One of your articles, you also talked to the state economist, and I wanted to know what he told you, especially with regard to the terrible R, R word recession?
ALEX BAUMHARDT: Yeah, nobody wants to say it. I mean, he artfully delivered bad news, which is, in essence, the state forecasts data, especially related to economic growth and jobs. And those are things that he'll be looking at in May and June. Those are things that there's a lot of work that goes into sort of projecting what the next quarter could look like, or the next few quarters, they are monitoring the markets. That's sort of the most salient real-world day to day thing they can look at. But of course, those markets are not the US economy. Those are not jobs. Those are not everything. I think the bigger takeaway that I got was, when you have this level of economic uncertainty and you have this level of chaos, companies can't plan, and if you can't plan, you're not hiring, and if you're not hiring, you're not growing. And if you're not hiring and you're not growing, you stagnate. And what does stagnation lead to? A recession. So, nobody has said anything to the effect of a recession is completely off the table.
MICHAEL DUNNE: A sobering thought, a sobering thought. Alex Baumhardt, she's a senior reporter at The Oregon Capitol Chronicle, and I'm going to link to both the articles. I think they were great on our web post. Thanks so much for taking some time out and talking with us.
ALEX BAUMHARDT: Thanks so much for talking with me. I love it.
MICHAEL DUNNE: That's the show for today. All episodes of Oregon on the record are available as a podcast at klcc.org. Monday on the show, we'll talk with Representative Val Hoyle. She's been visiting the district and meeting with seniors and other constituents who are terrified about cuts to vital programs like Social Security. I'm Michael Dunne, and this has been organ on the record from KLCC. Thanks for listening.
