Berkeley homeless camp spreads deadly disease, killing 1 — as 200 rats discovered in filthy breeding operation

Source: New York Post

A deadly rat-borne disease outbreak in Berkeley has claimed its first human victim in more than a decade — and health officials say the shocking case involved an RV so overrun with rodents that nearly 200 rats had to be removed before the vehicle was destroyed. Berkeley officials confirmed this week that one person died in May after contracting leptospirosis, a potentially fatal bacterial disease spread through the urine of infected animals, particularly rats. A second person who lived with the victim survived after a lengthy hospitalization.