US EditionDisease spread by rats found near Berkeley encampment
Leptospirosis detected in rats and dogs at Berkeley's Harrison Street encampment, complicating cleanup amid federal injunction and legal disputes, with at least 30 days needed for remediation.
- On Monday, Berkeley Public Health Officer Noemi Doohan announced leptospirosis was detected at the Harrison Street encampments, urging immediate departure to reduce risk and contain the contagion.
- Because leptospirosis survives in contaminated water, the Leptospira bacterium spreads through infected urine and can persist for 30 or more days, while homeless encampments block vector control teams, raising outbreak risk.
- Symptoms typically surface 2 to 30 days after exposure, often misidentified; if untreated, leptospirosis can cause organ failure or death, so Berkeley Health Department urges dog vaccination and offers vouchers.
- City staff announced cleanup steps that include clearing encampments, disinfecting with soap and bleach, and urged residents in the red zone to move at least a third of a mile away as eradication will take at least 30 days with repeated vector-control methods.
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11 Articles
Frightening reality of California’s homeless epidemic laid bare as disease outbreak could threaten LA
The bacterial disease leptospirosis was found in rats at encampments in the hippie college town of Berkeley, leading health officials there to issue an urgent warning to the homeless to clear out.
Deadly Bacterial Infection Breaks Out at Berkeley Homeless Encampment, Kills Two Dogs
Berkeley residents are now going to have to learn about a deadly bacterial disease called leptospirosis, which has broken out at an encampment there and already killed two dogs, and it could also spread to and kill humans.There has long been a persistent and potentially dangerous homeless encampment at Harrison and Eighth streets in Berkeley, one which occupies about three whole city blocks. But the level of potential danger there has just escal…
Disease spread by rats found near Berkeley encampment
(KRON) -- A bacterial disease that can potentially be fatal to both people and pets has been found in Alameda County for the first time in five years, health officials announced this week. The City of Berkeley issued a public health alert on Monday after cases of leptospirosis were confirmed in sickened dogs at the Harrison Street encampments. The bacterium spreads through the urine of infected animals, according to the Centers for Disease Contr…
Deadly bacterial outbreak discovered at Berkeley homeless encampment
Berkeley city leadership issued a public health warning on Monday after animals in a homeless encampment tested positive for leptospirosis, a bacterial disease that can be fatal in dogs and humans.
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