Seven deaths in nine months from a virus most people think is mild
As Manitoba's Indigenous Summer Games draw near, the province has widened access to free hepatitis A vaccines in a quiet acknowledgment that large gatherings and ongoing outbreaks are a dangerous combination. Since September 2024, the virus has claimed seven lives and hospitalized 183 people across the province, moving steadily from northern communities into Winnipeg. The expansion of eligibility — reaching residents of the two host nations and all who will travel to or work at the games — reflects a public health system trying to get ahead of a moment that could accelerate what has already become a prolonged and costly outbreak.
- An outbreak declared in April 2025 has now infected 826 Manitobans, killed seven, and sent 183 to hospital — and it shows no sign of stopping on its own.
- The Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games, set to draw visitors from across the region to Norway House and Sagkeeng in July and August, represent exactly the kind of gathering that can turn a steady outbreak into a surge.
- Manitoba has responded by expanding free vaccine eligibility to residents of both host communities, travellers, workers, and those expecting visitors — a targeted effort to build a protective ring around the event.
- Public health officials are pressing hand hygiene alongside vaccination, knowing that asymptomatic carriers can spread the virus silently, making behavioural precautions as important as clinical ones.
- The province's move arrives just days before the games begin, signalling that officials view this gathering as a potential inflection point — and are racing to lower that risk before the crowds arrive.
Manitoba is expanding free hepatitis A vaccine access as a serious provincial outbreak continues and two Indigenous communities prepare to host the Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games this month. Residents of Norway House Cree Nation and Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation — the games' host communities — are now eligible for the vaccine at no cost, as are travellers, workers, and anyone expecting visitors from these areas during the events, which run in July and August respectively.
The outbreak has been unfolding since September 2024 and was formally declared in April 2025. It has infected 826 people, hospitalized 183, sent eight to intensive care, and killed seven. Cases began in northern Indigenous communities but have increasingly appeared in Winnipeg. Hepatitis A attacks the liver and can cause fever, nausea, jaundice, and vomiting; for those with weakened immune systems, it can become life-threatening quickly. The virus spreads through contaminated food, water, and person-to-person contact — including from people who carry it without symptoms.
The province had already made vaccines available to several high-risk groups before this latest expansion, including children connected to Indigenous communities, residents of specific northern First Nations, people experiencing homelessness, people who use drugs, and men who have sex with men. Public health officials continue to stress thorough handwashing as a frontline defence alongside vaccination.
The timing of the expansion — days before the games begin — reflects the province's concern that a large regional gathering could accelerate transmission. The seven deaths recorded since September are a sober reminder that hepatitis A is not a mild illness for everyone it reaches, and officials are working to ensure the games do not become a turning point in the outbreak's trajectory.
Manitoba is opening up free hepatitis A vaccines to a wider swath of people as a major outbreak continues its spread across the province and two Indigenous communities prepare to host the Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games this month.
The expansion targets residents of Norway House Cree Nation and Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation—the two host communities for the games, which run July 8 to 12 in Norway House and August 10 to 15 in Sagkeeng. Anyone aged six months or older living in either community is now eligible for the vaccine at no cost. The province is also vaccinating people who plan to travel to these communities for the games, those who will be working there during the event, and anyone expecting visitors from these areas. The move reflects a deliberate effort to contain transmission during a gathering that will draw people from across the region.
The hepatitis A outbreak that prompted this action began circulating last fall and was formally declared in April 2025. Since September 2024, the virus has infected 826 people across Manitoba, with cases initially concentrated in northern Indigenous communities but increasingly appearing in Winnipeg. The toll has been severe: 183 people have been hospitalized, eight have required intensive care, and seven have died. Hepatitis A attacks the liver and can cause fever, nausea, vomiting, and jaundice. For people with compromised immune systems, the illness can turn serious quickly. The virus travels through contaminated food and water, and from person to person—even from someone who carries it without showing symptoms.
The province had already established vaccine eligibility for several groups before this latest expansion. Children living in or regularly visiting Indigenous communities, or who have household members from those communities, could already access the vaccine. People from specific northern communities including Island Lake, Peguis First Nation, War Lake First Nation, Ebb and Flow First Nation, Cross Lake First Nation, and Tataskweyak Cree Nation qualified for a single dose. Beyond geography, the vaccine was available to people experiencing homelessness, those who use drugs, people with certain medical conditions, and men who have sex with men—all groups at elevated risk.
Public health officials emphasize that hand hygiene remains a first line of defense. Washing hands thoroughly with soap, or using alcohol-based sanitizer when soap is unavailable, can interrupt the chain of transmission. But vaccination offers more durable protection, and the timing of this expansion—just days before the games begin—suggests officials are taking the outbreak seriously as a potential amplification event. Large gatherings create conditions for rapid spread, and the games will draw participants and spectators from communities already affected by the outbreak.
The outbreak's persistence and geographic spread underscore how quickly hepatitis A can move through a population when conditions align. The virus does not require dramatic symptoms to spread; asymptomatic carriers can transmit it. The seven deaths recorded since September represent a stark reminder that this is not a mild illness for everyone who contracts it. As the games approach, the expanded vaccine eligibility represents the province's attempt to lower the risk that this event becomes a turning point in the outbreak's trajectory.
Citas Notables
Hepatitis A is an acute liver infection that can cause symptoms including fever, nausea, vomiting and jaundice, with more severe outcomes in people with weakened immune systems.— Manitoba public health guidance
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why expand vaccine access right now, just before the games? Couldn't they have done this months ago?
They could have, but the outbreak was still being understood. What changed is the realization that a large gathering in an already-affected community creates perfect conditions for spread. They're trying to raise immunity in the host communities before people arrive.
So the games themselves are at risk of becoming a superspreader event?
That's the concern. Thousands of people from different communities converging, sharing food, close contact—hepatitis A spreads person to person. One asymptomatic carrier could seed cases across the region.
The death toll is striking. Seven people dead from hepatitis A. That's not what most people think of when they hear that name.
Right. Most people think of it as a travel illness, something you get from bad water in another country. But in a population with underlying vulnerabilities—immune compromise, malnutrition, crowded living conditions—it becomes much more serious. Seven deaths in nine months is significant.
Who's most at risk right now?
People living in the affected communities, obviously. But also homeless populations, people who use drugs, anyone with a weakened immune system. The virus doesn't discriminate, but it hits hardest where conditions are already fragile.
What does hand hygiene actually prevent if the virus is already circulating?
It breaks the chain. If you wash your hands after contact with someone infected, you don't carry it to the next person. It's not glamorous, but it works. The vaccine is the long-term answer, but hand hygiene is what stops transmission right now, today.