'Medieval' Diseases Like Typhus Are Making A Comeback (in Los Angeles)

[Refractive Reflections]

Caption:

Typhus is seeing a resurgence among the homeless population of Los Angeles, and it's not just them who are at risk. Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Elizabeth Greenwood filed a claim against the city for $5 million saying she contracted the disease due to a rat infestation at City Hall. Typhus can be spread by rats carrying infected fleas. It can cause extremely high fever, headache and muscle pain. The disease dates back hundreds of years, and occurs largely in areas with poor sanitation.

[Powder]

Of course it would be LA.

[triplexxx]

According to a Jeopardy clue a couple weeks back, last documented case was 40 years ago, and yet they've been working on a new medication for it recently in spite of it, just have to hope it delivers what it promises and gets to the people in time.

[Andrew NDB]

I hear about this all the time on the Adam & Dr. Drew Podcast. Yeah, seems pretty appalling.

[IndigoErth]

Oh, fantastic. [She said sarcastically.] And what are the risks we someday get another Black Death or similar plague? I think it's believed those were spread via fleas too? Not doing more to address homelessness, healthcare, human behaviors that support pest populations, and a rise in anti-vaxxers sounds like such a good plan.

And how likely is it that we'll continue not to and regret it later? People don't want healthcare for all because "my tax dollars!" but well... [fast forward to some future event] now your family is all dead from a plague and you're not feeling so well. I hope it was worth it. Sometimes the good done for others (as well as the wider environment) also benefits the rest around them.


It's a little scary to think that if there is a big increase in fleas carrying the kind of bacteria that are behind a lot of these illnesses, then getting a random flea infestation in the home... yikes.

[Andrew NDB]

Basically Los Angeles is pouring (mis-spending) millions into "the homeless problem," more and more every year, and rather than help it things have actually gotten significantly worse due to the city's liberal attitude toward the homeless. i.e., they can build mass camps everywhere and no businesses can tell them to leave/police can't act, etc.. Meanwhile, yes, rats and their feces in encampments spreading long dead diseases across the board.

[Voltron]

I don't know what people want.

Society, by definition, requires everyone who can to pitch in and help out. If we constantly turn bury our head when something goes wrong, then sooner or later the problem will overtake all of us.

[IndigoErth]

Though issue... I can only assume that the "liberal attitude toward the homeless" probably comes from a place of not wanting to be cruel, esp toward those trapped in a hard knock life, on top of clearly not really having any clue on what to actually DO about the issue. I mean, no one likes homelessness, aside from the mentally ill who want to live that way. (Granted that's only speculation on my part since I don't live there, but surely few normal, non-homeless people would think the situation is just fine.)

And sure, businesses and whatnot should fully have the right to tell any loiterers, homeless or otherwise, to move along. But if they're homeless, where are they gonna go other than just circle around town continuously, so telling them to leave isn't solving anything either.

This country as a whole needs to pull together and come up with some kind of solutions that actually addresses it, not just shifts it around or allows it to grow and then point fingers because people couldn't figure out what to do about it.

Though that's kind of hard because the freedoms and whatnot we uphold don't exactly make it too easily possible to force adults to make better choices that will stop them from being homeless, let alone force those that are mentally ill into some kind of state-run care. I mean, what can we do... At best we may have to change that or find some kind of gray area in there that makes that happen against their will?

I remember years ago reading about an older couple somewhere in my general region that were homeless. Both mentally ill, though the woman was supposedly worse off. Some people did try to help get them off the street and, if I recall, I think even into some kind of low income housing. Ultimately, they went right back to the street after a short time because they actually preferred it that way. I think the husband supposedly had a little more sense in his head, but not enough to try to control the situation and help them and he wasn't going to leave her, so back out onto the streets they went.

Wish I could find the article. Who knows if they're even alive this many years later. That's such a sad situation, but what do you do? They're adults and as a nation we typically don't tend to believe in forcing adults against their will even when they need it. But if they're that mentally ill that they prefer homelessness, then they clearly don't know any better. And how many others out there are a lot like them?


Then just add in the fact that housing is expensive, a lot of jobs don't pay a rate that have kept up with the basic costs of today and though it's easy to say "get a better one," not every person is going to be lucky enough in life to work up into a decent paying job that affords them those basic necessities. The basics should not be so increasingly out of reach for people... Minimum wage at one time was able to cover that -- with one spouse working. A single person on minimum should at least still be able to afford their basic needs. Food, shelter, clothing as need be, transportation, and all the normal the basic bills everyone has. (No, no iPhone, sorry, but companies do NEED to make some cheaper basic phone plans for gods sake! It's gotten ridiculous.) But if that's even possible anywhere still (is it?) then it's in the cheaper parts of the country where the minimum goes further and gets you more for your buck than it does for the rest of us.


If it was up to me... Get the mentally ill homeless into state/federally funded institutions ("My tax dollars!!" -- I don't care, do you prefer them on the street creating an eyesore and helping the spread of disease?) Rehabilitate and medicate those for which it is possible to get them to the point that they can be OKAY to be released. And for those not mentally ill, get better programs together to help them get jobs, affordable housing (and increase the amount that's affordable across the board for all people!), programs that set them up with agriculture jobs that might be able to hire and house the homeless who need to change course, escape from where they are and get back on their feet.

[ProactiveMan]

It's difficult to eliminate homelessness. Australia has a social safety net, but we still have people living on the street. The problem is that you can provide state housing and state funded social services, and these things help a lot of people, but there will always be others who fall through the cracks, or don’t want to engage.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by ProactiveMan

It's difficult to eliminate homelessness. Australia has a social safety net, but we still have people living on the street. The problem is that you can provide state housing and state funded social services, and these things help a lot of people, but there will always be others who fall through the cracks, or don’t want to engage.

The lion's share of them don't want help and refuse any assistance. It's a lot like Washington (where I live)... where homeless come here from many states away because of the liberal stance to them in places like Seattle.

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/hom...vibe/729916774

[Refractive Reflections]

Of course, it's not only Los Angeles with a homeless and feces problem, but San Francisco and Denver as well.