According to CNN, the city of Los Angeles has been suffering from a lethal, flea-borne outbreak of a middle ages disease called typhus, which is commonly found in homeless people.
The outbreak started in October with 57 cases of the typhus in downtown Los Angeles, which is not generally a hotbed of rare diseases. All of them were homeless.
According to public health officials, over 120 cases of typhus were reported in 2018, and the number has been increasing gradually in the first months of 2019.
City officials say they assumed that the disease outbreak would be restricted to homeless people; however, of late, they have seen typhus cases among the unexpected population.
Liz Greenwood, Deputy City Attorney, told Local 4 News, “It felt like somebody was driving railroad stakes through my eyes and out the back of my neck,” “Who gets typhus? It’s a medieval disease that’s caused by trash.”
She speculates that she had typhus fever in November, blaming fleas that ride on the rats that rarely infest Los Angeles city buildings. She further explained that those fleas get typhus from the garbage surrounding homeless camps throughout the city.
Greenwood told NBC, “There are rats in City Hall and City Hall East.” “There are enormous rats and their tails are as long as their bodies.”
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti has been trying to control the typhus outbreak by allotting funds for cleaning up trash, especially in areas where homeless people live for an extended period of time, including Skid Row, an area of downtown L.A.
One of the spokeswomen for the city of L.A. says, “Last fall we directed multiple City departments to begin a coordinated and comprehensive effort to improve cleanliness and protect public health in the Civic Center, including City Hall and City Hall East.”
She further added, “In addition to increased trash collection and cleanings, aggressive action has been taken to address pests both in the buildings and in the surrounding outside areas — including abatement treatments and the filling of 60 rodent burrows and 114 tree wells. This work in busy and highly populated public buildings is executed carefully to protect workers and visitors, and the scheduling of extermination activities takes these factors into consideration.”
Los Angeles has been facing difficulties in controlling widespread homelessness, the rising cost of living, and the progressive approach to curbing the increasing number of people sleeping rough. The city has been evicting rundown properties to expand homing opportunities for the middle class.
Over 55,000 people live on the streets in L.A., increased by 75 percent since Mayor Eric Garcetti took office in 2013. Another 55,000 homeless people live in Pasadena, Long Beach, and Glendale.
In October 2017, during a hygiene survey, L.A. public health officials identified more than 220 encampments, including 30 to 50 people living in them. These riffraff outposts have largely altered the basic terms of urban life. Such encampments are highly susceptible to typhus and other communicable diseases. Health officials say they plan to move such populations into long-term shelters; however, they are in need of more money. Until then, people are advised to watch their pets closely for fleas. They also recommend having their homes disinfected if they suspect that flea infestation.
