NEED TO KNOW
A resident of California has died after contracting leptospirosis, a rare disease linked to an RV overrun with wild rats.
This bacterial illness, typically spread through the urine of infected animals, is infrequent in humans. It often requires contact with contaminated bodily fluids for transmission.
Paul Buddenhagen, the city manager of Berkeley, noted that the disease poses little risk to public health, as human-to-human transmission is exceedingly rare.
A California resident has died following contact with multiple rats.
On June 10, Paul Buddenhagen alerted Berkeley officials about the presence of leptospirosis in local rat populations after a human death was connected to the disease last month. He shared this in a memo. While the overall risk to the public is minimal, he suggested steps to enhance awareness and study the local rat situation to help prevent further infections.
Leptospirosis is a treatable infection that spreads through infected animal fluids, and humans can become infected through exposure to these fluids, per the CDC.
The CDC indicates that individuals experiencing homelessness or those in environments with rat infestations are at a higher risk of contracting the disease. This appears to be true for the Berkeley individual who succumbed to leptospirosis, alongside their partner who also developed the illness, as noted by Buddenhagen.
Both individuals lived in a recreational vehicle where they actively trapped, fed, and bred wild rats. The RV was heavily infested with rats, which were not confined to cages, Buddenhagen mentioned in his memo.
While both residents fell ill, they did not seek medical attention for several weeks or potentially months. Eventually, they were taken to a hospital for care.
One person did not survive long after hospitalization, while the other managed to recover with treatment.
During their time in the hospital, Alameda County Vector Control set traps in and around the RV and ultimately sealed it, only reopening it to remove deceased rats. This process was repeated several times over group days to ensure no rats remained, after which the vehicle was towed and destroyed.
Reports from Alameda County Vector Control highlighted ongoing high rates of leptospirosis among the wild rat population surrounding the RV, surpassing urban expectations.
Buddenhagen emphasized that the public risk remains “extremely low” and indicated that this incident was a result of an “extreme situation.” Human transmission is rare, and there are no documented cases from the encampment on Harrison Street or evidence of the disease being passed from rats to other animals.
