A rat-borne disease has claimed the life of a resident and sickened another in Alameda County’s Berkeley, marking the city’s first confirmed human cases of leptospirosis in more than 10 years.
The incident prompted health officials to expand their public health response beyond an area that had been under scrutiny for months.
The two people were identified as residents of a recreational vehicle (RV) parked about a mile from the Harrison Street encampment, according to a public health update released by the Office of the City Manager on June 10.
One of the patients died soon after being hospitalized. The other recovered after receiving treatment, according to the city.
Health officials said both residents had delayed seeking medical care for weeks, possibly months, after falling ill. The delay in medical attention may have made the infections more severe.
Changed the City’s Understanding of Risk
For months, Berkeley’s public health efforts had focused on encampments along Harrison Street in northwest Berkeley, where rats carrying the bacteria had been identified, and two dogs tested positive for leptospirosis.
The city had previously established “red” and “yellow” risk zones around the area.
However, the newly identified human cases occurred outside those zones.
According to the city, the two individuals were living in an RV that was severely infested with wild rats. The vehicle was parked about one mile from Harrison Street.
The two new human cases prompted officials to abandon the risk zones and focus on the environments that make transmission more likely.
Based on soil and water testing and the new human infections of leptospirosis, the public health risk was no longer described in terms of geographic boundaries, but in terms of living conditions that facilitate transmission, particularly close proximity to rats, according to health officials.
What is Leptospirosis?
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that spreads primarily through the urine of infected animals, especially rats.
Without treatment, the disease can lead to kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, difficulty in breathing, and even death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
People and animals can become infected when contaminated water comes into contact with the eyes, nose, mouth, or broken skin.
Symptoms often resemble the flu, including fever, chills, headaches, red eyes, and muscle aches. Many people exposed to the bacteria never develop symptoms.
Around 1 million cases of leptospirosis occur every year globally, with roughly 60,000 deaths, according to the CDC.
Despite the fatal case, city officials stressed that the overall risk to Berkeley residents was low.
Officials noted that the bacteria does not survive well in dry, clean residential or commercial settings. It usually requires standing water, persistent moisture, or heavy rodent infestations to become dangerous.
Leptospirosis does not spread from person to person, according to city officials.
There were no human cases associated with encampments on and around Harrison Street, the city said, adding that there was no evidence of transmission from rats near Harrison Street to dogs.
Intensified Response
Berkeley officials said they have been working with Alameda County Vector Control and community partners for months to reduce conditions that attract rats and increase awareness among vulnerable populations.
The city and Alameda County Vector Control have also continued trapping and testing rats both near Harrison Street and around the area where the infected RV was parked.
Testing has shown a persistently high prevalence of leptospirosis among rats in those areas. The levels are higher than what is usually seen in urban rat populations in California, according to the city officials.
After the two new human cases were reported, Berkeley coordinated with Alameda County Vector Control to address the rat-infested RV.
The vehicle was sealed while traps were set and monitored over several days. Once it was established that no rats remained inside, the RV was towed away and destroyed.
According to the city, around 200 rats were removed from the vehicle before it was destroyed.
The death was an “extreme situation” involving unusually severe living conditions, officials said.
Environmental Testing
Researchers from the University of California, Davis also tested water and mud samples collected from Codornices Creek near the Harrison Street encampment.
All samples came back negative for leptospirosis.
Officials said the bacteria is vulnerable to sunlight and dry conditions, making it less likely to persist in the broader environment.
Comments
0 Comments deleted by Administrator