Typhus Outbreak Raises Questions About Whether Enough Is Being Done To Protect Health Of Homeless
“The sidewalks weren’t ever intended for habitation, our storm drains were never intended for human waste, and rats [are] crawling all over people,” said Estela Lopez, executive director of the L.A. Downtown Industrial Business Improvement District. “This is unimaginable, that in such an advanced society we would be facing this problem.”
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Typhus Outbreak Adds Fuel To The Debates Over Homelessness And Housing
A man hospitalized for dehydration a few months ago at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center started suffering a severe fever, and doctors weren’t sure why. The patient was homeless, a clue to doctors that he might have typhus. Every year people contract flea-borne typhus in Southern California, mostly in Los Angeles County. Doctors did a blood test. (Karlamangla, 10/11)
Orange County Register:
Typhus Fever’s Wild Threat? The Rat-Faced Opossum, Named In Health Advisories As Culprits In Spreading The Disease
In fact, the opossum was named by public health officials this past week as a main carrier of fleas that transmit typhus fever. The opossum, or possum, is a major contributor to the outbreak in Pasadena, where a record 20 cases have been reported this year as of Thursday, an “elevated level” well above the average of one to five cases per year, according to the city of Pasadena. Los Angeles County is reporting 59 cases of typhus fever so far this year. Of those, nine are associated with an outbreak in downtown Los Angeles and six of those were among people experiencing homelessness, however specific outbreak locations are being withheld by the county. L.A. County Department of Public Health reported on Wednesday that about 60 cases per year is average, so the county is ahead of its yearly rate. (Scauzillo, 10/11)
In other news on the homeless crisis —
San Francisco Chronicle:
Southeast Neighborhoods Grapple With RVs — Next Phase Of The Homeless Crisis
More than a dozen camper vans flanked the University Mound Reservoir in San Francisco’s Portola neighborhood Tuesday, spreading along University Street, past the antebellum senior center and alongside a row of abandoned greenhouses around the block. To residents who flocked to a neighborhood meeting that night, the vehicles are a source of frustration and a vexing symbol of the city’s inability to solve its homeless crisis. (Swan, 10/11)
Los Angeles Times:
$200,000 Grant May ‘Turbocharge’ Laguna Nonprofit’s Goal To Provide 180 Permanent Housing Units For Homeless People By 2020
A $200,000 Bank of America grant announced Wednesday for the Friendship Shelter of Laguna Beach will help “turbocharge” the nonprofit’s goal to provide 180 permanent housing units for homeless people by 2020, the shelter said. Friendship Shelter’s permanent supportive housing program, launched in 2014, currently has 87 units at apartment sites throughout south Orange County, with ongoing support services to ensure people remain housed, the organization said. (Vega, 10/11)