LA County Grapples With Typhus Epidemic

LOS ANGELES, CA – A coordinated government response to a flea-typhoid outbreak is crucial, a Los Angeles County official said Tuesday, calling for public health collaboration with other city agencies.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Los Angeles County health workers needed to work with their peers in Pasadena – where the disease had reached epidemic proportions – and in Long Beach. Both cities have independent health agencies.

Barger has seen a motion calling for greater awareness of people at risk as well as the many agencies in the city that manage animal control and garbage collection in the county. It will be reviewed by the Supervisory Board next week.

The recent downtown typhus epidemic accounts for about 15 percent of the 59 cases reported this year by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, according to Barger. According to the DPH, six of the nine downtown cases were contracted by homeless people and all nine were hospitalized for treatment.

The county total reflects an upward trend at least over the last three years, with 67 cases reported for the entire year 2017. This does not include cases in Long Beach or Pasadena.

Pasadena has been disproportionately affected, confirming 20 cases of typhus to date in 2018, compared to one to five cases per year. Long Beach has had double its historical case rate, with a total of 12 reported to date.

Infected fleas are most commonly transmitted by rats, cats and opossums, which do not exhibit symptoms of typhus infection. However, typhus can cause high fever, chills, headaches and skin rashes and, if not treated with antibiotics, can also result in hospitalization and, in rare cases, death.

The best way to control fleas is to control the animals that spread them, Barger said. The disease is not passed from person to person, according to county health officials.

In addition to avoiding any contact and preventing fleas from getting into pets, residents should keep trash cans well closed to discourage wild and stray animals.

Barger's motion includes a recommendation that the Animal Department solicit donations of flea collars that can be distributed to homeless people with pets.

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City News Service; (Photo of CSIRO via Getty Images)