Frightening reality of California’s homeless epidemic laid bare as disease outbreak could threaten LA

An outbreak of deadly bacteria at a Bay Area homeless encampment has sparked urgent calls for action in Los Angeles, with officials warning the disease may already be circulating in the city.

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.

Authorities told them to relocate at least a third of a mile from the “red zone” encompassing several square blocks as soon as possible.

Humans can contract leptospirosis by coming into contact with contaminated water or surfaces.

Flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache and vomiting appear between five and 14 days. If the infection isn’t detected and treated with antibiotics, it leads to organ failure, internal bleeding, meningitis — and death.

“It’s a breeding ground for disease, where you see people living in squalor and surrounded by trash and human waste. It’s a petri dish.”

“The conditions here are the same as they are in Berkeley. It’s only a matter of time before it’s here as well,” LA Councilwoman Traci Park, whose district covers Venice, where homeless encampments have long plagued the iconic boardwalk, told The Post.

The scourge in Berkeley has raised fears the disease is already in LA because the city’s Homeless Services Authority does not test for the bacteria in homeless encampments.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health declined to answer questions about potential outbreaks, instead referring questions to the Homeless Services Authority.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, said “good public health includes regular, ongoing, monitoring of different vectors” for the disease, like rats and dogs.

“Good public health costs money and must support a variety of trained experts in disease prevention and surveillance,” he told The Post. 

In Berkeley, the disease has been detected in several rats and two dogs, posing a potentially fatal threat to people and animals, according to the city’s health department.

Berkeley authorities began removing the encampment in June 2025, but were blocked by a federal judge, who ruled that officials failed to provide proper notice and violated Americans with Disabilities Act protections for disabled homeless residents.

The bacteria thrives in places lacking basic services like indoor plumbing, running water or refrigerated food storage, making encampments prime breeding grounds for an outbreak.

Leptospirosis can be treated with oral antibiotics and additional supportive care for individuals who develop severe illness. A two-dose vaccine is available for dogs and cats.

A November outbreak in Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa led to at least 12 deaths on the Caribbean island. Nearly 60,000 people die each year from the disease, according to the CDC.

At the Berkeley encampment on Friday, homeless residents were staying put despite signs posted by health officials warning of the disease.

One man, Erin Spencer, said his puppy contracted leptospirosis and died. He had no plans to leave the encampment. 

“It’s carried by the rats around here,” he said of the bacteria, while petting his other dog, Bastet. “It’s something that I’ve known about.”

Councilwoman Park believes the conditions at LA encampments — where “people don’t have a shower, they don’t have a place to get clean clothes” — means the disease is likely spreading undetected.

“I think it already has,” she said.