An overview of the Harrison Street encampment in Berkeley, where leptospirosis has been discovered.
Berkeley - Berkeley city officials have confirmed one death as the result of leptospirosis, a bacterial disease identified in a homeless encampment in January.
The death was the city’s first human case of leptospirosis in more than a decade.
City officials, in a public health update released Wednesday, stated that a person had died in May after contracting the infection while living in an RV with a "large number" of rats.
What they're saying:
A second person, who lived with the deceased in the RV, was infected with the disease but survived after a prolonged hospitalization.
"Delayed access to medical care likely contributed to death in one of the two patients," a release from the city states. "This RV was located approximately one mile from the Harrison Street encampment, where there has been documented leptospirosis in rats and associated illness in dogs."
Dig deeper:
The disease was first identified by city staffers in January, after testing animals in the vicinity of a homeless encampment on Harrison Street. The city’s Public Health Officer at the time recommended that encampment residents move out of the area as soon as possible, and relocate at least one-third of a mile away due to public health risk caused by the rat infestation transmitting the disease.
In animals, leptospirosis can cause excessive thirst, vomiting, shivering, and lethargy, and can progress to liver failure if untreated. It can also be fatal in dogs.
In humans, leptospirosis can cause sudden high fever, throbbing headache, severe calf/leg pain, and red eyes (conjunctivitis). Without treatment the disease can cause kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, trouble breathing, and death.
The Source: City of Berkeley, Previous KTVU reporting