At least 28 people from Kashechewan First Nation in northern Ontario have tested positive for cryptosporidium, a parasite that causes gastrointestinal illness, officials confirmed on Jan. 22, 2026, as the community’s water-system failure and evacuation stretched into a third week. Two of them also tested positive for a second parasite, dientamoeba fragilis.
Illness spreads amid the evacuation
Officials in the fly-in community on the western shore of James Bay said testing showed 28 people have cryptosporidium and two also have dientamoeba fragilis. The exact cause of the infections is under investigation, but both parasites have been linked to contaminated water and food, among other sources.
About 400 people remain in their homes in the 2,200-member community after failures of the local water supply and sewage systems forced hundreds to evacuate. Kashechewan declared a state of emergency on Jan. 4 after infrastructure damage created an urgent public health and safety issue, with sewage creeping into people’s homes and contaminating fresh water systems. Chief Hosea Wesley declared the emergency after the water treatment plant stopped working due to defective pumps.
An earlier count released by the First Nation had put confirmed cases at 19. Executive director Tyson Wesley told CBC News there was “still a lot of things that need to be tested to find out where that parasite is coming from.” Indigenous Services Canada said E. coli had not been detected in samples from the water treatment plant, nor in stool samples from patients reporting gastrointestinal issues — deepening the question of exactly how the parasite is spreading.
Plant repaired, but water still off limits
Indigenous Services Canada said repairs to the community’s water treatment plant have been completed and the plant is operational, but residents are still advised not to consume the water while more testing is done. Public health officials with Ontario and the Northeastern Public Health Unit are working to determine the cause of the illness.
The department said cryptosporidium causes gastrointestinal symptoms and most cases resolve on their own over a couple of weeks without medication, although some people may need antimicrobial treatment. “Sources for the cryptosporidium parasite vary widely and can be found in the environment such as soil, lake water, and animal feces,” spokesperson Eric Head said in an emailed statement. “People can become infected when they ingest water or food that has been contaminated with infected feces, or through direct contact with someone who is sick when hand hygiene is suboptimal.”
A hard parasite to kill
Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite that spreads through the feces of infected people and animals and is a leading cause of waterborne disease outbreaks. It is notably resistant to chlorine disinfection, which is one reason it can defeat treatment systems that handle other pathogens, and its hardy outer shell lets it survive for long periods in soil and water. Symptoms — watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and fever — usually appear within about a week of infection. While most healthy people recover without treatment, the parasite can be dangerous for young infants, seniors and people with weakened immune systems, who may need antimicrobial medication.
The count kept rising
The Jan. 22 tally did not hold. By Jan. 27, 44 residents had been diagnosed with cryptosporidium, believed to be associated with the contamination of the water plant, and roughly 800 residents had been evacuated to locations as distant as Kingston and Niagara Falls, according to a Timmins Daily Press report. The growing case count turned a story about broken infrastructure into a public health emergency layered on top of it — and renewed the community’s long-standing demand for a permanent fix, including relocating the flood-prone community to higher ground, rather than another round of repairs to systems that have failed before.
