Californian Dies from Rare Disease After 'Trapping, Feeding and Breeding Wild Rats' in an RV
AOL.com • • health
Key Points:
- A California resident living in an RV heavily infested with wild rats died from leptospirosis, a rare bacterial disease spread through contact with infected animal urine or body fluids.
- The individual and their partner, who also contracted the disease, had been trapping, feeding, and breeding wild rats inside the RV, delaying medical treatment for weeks or months.
- Alameda County Vector Control responded by trapping and removing rats from the RV, which was then sealed and destroyed, finding a high prevalence of leptospirosis in the local rat population.
- Berkeley city manager Paul Buddenhagen emphasized that the risk to public health is very low, as person-to-person transmission is extremely uncommon and no other cases have been reported in the nearby encampment.
- Measures are being proposed to increase awareness and research on the city's rat population to prevent future infections.