L.A.-Heaps of rotting trash on city streets bring rats, typhus

[Anti Federalist]

Rotting Trash Piles Sky-High in LA, Attracting Rats and Raising Concerns of a New Epidemic

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/invest...510171121.html

After reporting LA's most notorious trash pile to the city's 311 services hotline, the I-Team was told it could take up to 90 days before it's cleaned up. An expert says there's no time to waste

By Joel Grover and Amy Corral

Published May 20, 2019 at 10:37 PM | Updated 4 hours ago

Last year, a record 124 typhus cases were reported in Los Angeles County

The city's most notorious trash pile in downtown LA was cleaned up, but that didn't last

Other large U.S. cities, like New York and Washington DC, have teams devoted to aggressive rat control

Rat-infested piles of rotting garbage left uncollected by the city of Los Angeles, even after promises to clean it up, are fueling concerns about a new epidemic after last year's record number of flea-borne typhus cases.

Even the city's most notorious trash pile, located between downtown LA's busy Fashion and Produce districts, continues to be a magnet for rats after it was cleaned up months ago. The rodents can carry typhus-infected fleas, which can spread the disease to humans through bacteria rubbed into the eyes or cuts and scrapes on the skin, resulting in severe flu-like symptoms.

The NBC4 I-Team first told Mayor Eric Garcetti's office about the piles of filth in the 700 block of Ceres Avenue in October. At the time, he promised to make sure trash doesn't pile up like that.

The garbage was cleaned after the interview, but conditions have worsened over the next seven months.

Watch: The View From Above LA's Most Notorious Trash Pile[LA] Watch: The View From Above LA's Most Notorious Trash Pile
Drone video shows a sprawling trash pile about a block long between downtown Los Angele's Fashion and Produce districts. The heap of waste was cleaned up last year, but has returned months later, offering an attractive source of food for rats. (Published Monday, May 20, 2019)
"I can’t walk down the street without thinking that a flea could jump on me," said Estela Lopez, who represents business owners in the area.

After reporting the pile of waste to the city's 311 services hotline, the I-Team was told it could take up to 90 days before it's cleaned.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, of UCLA, said there's no time to waste.

"Trash and food waste attracts rats," said Klausner. "It does pose a public health risk."

An out-of-control rat population can even lead to the spread of dangerous strains of salmonella and bubonic plague, he noted.

Other large U.S. cities, like New York and Washington DC, have teams devoted to aggressive rat control. In the nation's capital, they're experimenting with bait stations laced with a rat contraceptive.

But in Los Angeles, the I-Team learned there is no plan or program to control the growing rat population that feasts at trash piles like the one on Ceres Avenue.

"It's something that we'll look into," said Pepe Garica, of Los Angeles' bureau of sanitation.

Rats carrying typhus-infected fleas were found around LA last fall, according to county health department records obtained by the I-Team. The agency did not provide details about where the fleas were found, saying that information would cause confusion and unnecessary alarm, but the I-Team discovered that typhus-infected fleas were found on animals waiting to be adopted at the North Central Animal Shelter.

Between 2013 and 2017, county residents reported a yearly average of nearly 60 cases. That's twice as many the number reported in the previous five years.

Last year, a record 124 cases were reported in Los Angeles County.

Symptoms of flea-borne typhus, which can start within two weeks after infection, include high fever, headache, chills, and body aches. Rashes can appear on the chest, back, arms and legs. Fatalities occur in less than 1 percent of cases.

The I-Team asked the Department of Public Health what became of the shelter animals carrying fleas that tested positive for typhus. We are still waiting to hear back.

[tfurrh]

rotting garbage left uncollected by the city of Los Angeles, even after promises to clean it up,

But without government....

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

progress

[Working Poor]

Maybe they will get a plague epidemic going and we can send all the illegals there and quarantine off California.

[oyarde]

Good Lord what a bunch of lazy , worthless $#@!s .

[Champ]

Trash, poop, needles, disease, shanty tent towns.. glorious times ahead.

[tod evans]

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of communists...

[Schifference]

Rats are living creatures that deserve to be treated humanely.

Funny thing is I would bet that a person that would butcher their live child in the birthing room would be an activist for saving the rats.

[Anti Globalist]

Congratulations California. You're definitely going places with your stupid policies.

[ATruepatriot]

Question: Is this a massive pile of garbage or a homeless camp?

Rat-infested piles of rotting garbage, like this one in downtown LA, are left uncollected — even after promises to clean it up. https://t.co/D2txaSUD21 pic.twitter.com/DoWCvm4Das

— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) May 21, 2019

Answer: This is Ceres Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. As you can see in the clip, there are people who seem to be picking through this garbage pile which is infested with rats, some of which carry fleas and diseases hazardous to humans.

NBC 4 in Los Angeles interviewed Mayor Eric Garcetti about this same pile of garbage last October. He was evidently embarrassed by it because the next day trucks showed up and cleared the street. But within a few months, the garbage pile was back, bigger than ever. A call to the city’s 311 services hotline resulted in a message that it could take up to 90 days for the garbage to be cleared. That’s not good enough according to UCLA infectious disease specialist Dr. Jeffrey Klausner:

“Trash and food waste attracts rats,” said Klausner. “It does pose a public health risk.”

An out-of-control rat population can even lead to the spread of dangerous strains of salmonella and bubonic plague, he noted.

Other large U.S. cities, like New York and Washington DC, have teams devoted to aggressive rat control…

But in Los Angeles, the I-Team learned there is no plan or program to control the growing rat population that feasts at trash piles like the one on Ceres Avenue.

“It’s something that we’ll look into,” said Pepe Garica, of Los Angeles’ bureau of sanitation.

When NBC called to speak to Mayor Garcetti about the problem again, he wouldn’t sit down with them. Apparently, he has other, more important things to do. The concern about diseases carried by rats isn’t just idle speculation. Last year there was an outbreak of typhus with over 120 reported cases traced back to this same area:

Wholesale fish distributors, produce warehouses and homeless encampments line Ceres Avenue downtown, creating perfect conditions for rats.

Uneaten food is dumped on the street — a salad platter was recently splattered on the asphalt — and discarded clothing piles up only to be swirled into rats’ nests…

City officials recently declared downtown’s skid row — roughly 54 square blocks where more than 4,000 homeless congregate — a “typhus zone.”

It’s no coincidence that the area where the trash piles up is also skid row where up to 4,000 homeless congregate. For the city to deal with the trash it would have to deal with the homeless living in the trash. And despite spending more than half-a-billion dollars on homeless services last year, it appears the city has seen zero improvements in the overall population. The city is expected to release a report on the situation at the end of this month but word has already leaked that the report is going to be bad news. From the LA Times:

Los Angeles officials are bracing for the release of a report that’s likely to show little or no progress in reining in homelessness, despite the $619 million they spent last year to grapple with the crisis.

The gloomy prognosis on one of Southern California’s top political issues emerged during two recent briefings on homelessness and the 2019 point-in-time count, the results of which are due to be released May 31…

Authorities reported that 53,000 L.A. County residents were homeless in 2018. Lynn said the 2019 point-in-time count, which was conducted in January, was being held for further analysis.

As I pointed out last week, the number of homeless people was up by double-digits in San Francisco and surrounding counties. The numbers were up 43% in Orange County just south of Los Angeles. So it sounds like LA is looking for a way to spin some very bad numbers. Meanwhile, the trash keeps piling up, the rats keep breeding, and the city has no plan to deal with it. Here’s the NBC 4 report:

https://hotair.com/archives/2019/05/...nt-city-clean/

[pcosmar]

Need Bears and Cats..
Bears to eat the garbage and cats for the rats..

[tod evans]

Communist utopia....

[Zippyjuan]

Need Bears and Cats..
Bears to eat the garbage and cats for the rats..

Then when there are too many cats you need dogs. Then when there are too many dogs maybe some elephants to scare them away. Then more mice to drive off the elephants.

[Swordsmyth]

Move away from the big cities and their nearby suburbs.


Then sit back and laugh as nature kills off the liberals with plagues so we don't have to throw them out of helicopters.

[Anti Globalist]

One of these day California will become a sea of garbage. At that point you'll have to buy a boat or a canoe to get around.

[Marenco]

One of these day California will become a sea of garbage. At that point you'll have to buy a boat or a canoe to get around.

[susano]

Trash removal and clean streets are oppressive symptoms of white patriarchy.

[Swordsmyth]

Trash removal and clean streets are oppressive symptoms of white patriarchy.

Sanitation is slavery.

[Schifference]

You have it all wrong. What you are calling garbage is another person's treasures and I think the courts have ruled they have a right to leave them on the street and no one can touch them.

[Anti Federalist]

Trash removal and clean streets are oppressive symptoms of white patriarchy.

Sanitation is slavery.

Waste water treatment is white supremacy.

[Schifference]

If migrants can journey thousands of miles to enter utopia, I would think it would be very easy for the homeless to move into Pelosi's neighborhood. Maybe someone should set up a go fund me and organize the effort to transition the homeless into a better part of Cali. Imagine a caravan of homeless making the journey from their tent city to Pelosi's door step. Obviously the transition team would need to help long enough for the transients to get acclimated. Maybe a dozer could scoop up the garbage and transfer it to cul-de-sacs in rich neighborhoods.

[Schifference]

Has it not been proven that entities bring in busloads of people for paid protests and such? So send in a couple of busloads of paid organizers to help orchestrate the caravan. Pass out some literature and convince the homeless to move to a better neighborhood. See what kind of attention that gets on CNN or MSNBC. See all the liberal support for the poor people. Start by caravanning children with families. Of course they cannot be separated.

[Schifference]

Homeless should choose where they want to go and Go Fund Me makes it happen. Caravans to the most outspoken liberal streets.

[Schifference]

How could the liberals get angry? They should support and welcome with open arms. Will they call the police? I think this would be fantastic. Forget about Latino's. Let's relocate the homeless along with their possessions and hypodermic needles.

Earlier today a rare thing happened to me. I had a thought. Why is it that Latino = good immigrant and Russian = bad on so many levels? Would liberals be okay with millions of Russians coming here? If open borders were the thing, why were there entry ports even built? Why passports? Why give people SS numbers at birth? None of those things are necessary. Why have SS, medicare, and taxes? Were those established to take care of a segment of the population? If we have no borders and everyone is welcome then these programs cannot exist. All government pensions should cease and desist from paying another dime. Why name the country? It is just an island that anyone can go to and live. Free food, medical, dental, housing, everything provided. There is some fine print of course. All these benefits are only available to new comers seeking asylum. No person that is homeless and currently living in the USA is eligible. This deal is only for new comers.

[susano]

The downtown LA homeless are likely not illegals but mentally ill and drug addicts. Illegal homeless are camped elsewhere. Like it or not, our society has to address this problem and it won't be fixed by a higher minimum wage. Here's a similar situation in Seattle:

[susano]

And here is the reason this all happened:

[Swordsmyth]

As second case of typhoid hits LAPD, report noted infestations of everything in the Skid Row station, including even locusts. Report also notes infestation of rats/rodents, fleas, roaches, flies gnats, and mosquitoes.

[Schifference]

As second case of typhoid hits LAPD, report noted infestations of everything in the Skid Row station, including even locusts. Report also notes infestation of rats/rodents, fleas, roaches, flies gnats, and mosquitoes.

The city should post warning signs and disclaimers to enter and stay at own risk. Any person that gets sick should sue the city.

[Swordsmyth]

The city should post warning signs and disclaimers to enter and stay at own risk. Any person that gets sick should sue the city.

Good points.

[Swordsmyth]

Los Angeles is going down the drain.

The city, with a population topping four million and a broader metropolitan area with many millions more, is awash in massive problems — overcrowding, lack of housing, and high demand for free services among them. But other far more serious problems are lurking, Dr. Drew Pinksy said on Thursday.
“We have a complete breakdown of the basic needs of civilization in Los Angeles right now,” Pinsky told Fox New host Laura Ingraham. “We have the three prongs of airborne disease, tuberculosis is exploding, rodent-borne. We are one of the only cities in the country that doesn’t have a rodent control program, and sanitation has broken down.”
Pinsky said bubonic plague — also known as the “Black Death,” a pandemic that killed off millions in the 14th century — is “likely” already present in Los Angeles. The plague is spread by infected fleas and exposure to bodily fluids from a dead plague-infected animal, with the bacteria entering through the skin and traveling to lymph nodes.
Typhus, which broke out in the city last year, will likely return, Pinsky said. Already, a Los Angeles police officer has contracted typhoid fever, which infects fewer than 350 Americans each year. The various types of typhus are caused by a bacterial infection and spread by body lice, chiggers or fleas. In the 1600s, the disease decimated Germany.
“This is unbelievable. I can’t believe I live in a city where this is not Third World. This is medieval,” Pinsky said, according to Fox News. “Third World countries are insulted if they are accused of being like this. No city on Earth tolerates this. The entire population is at risk.”
Pinsky said the city simply can't handle the demand for services, noting that many homeless are mentally ill and don't want to accept housing.


“[T]he government is somehow insisting that housing is the problem when in fact we have chronic mental illness, we have addiction, we have people who don’t want to leave the streets,” Pinsky said. “They literally won’t take the housing if we give it to them. And that’s the population that’s vulnerable, and is going to get so ill this summer. It scares me for their well-being.”
The famed doctor also said California cities are suffering after allowing thousands of illegal aliens to flow in. He said the liberal politicians running most cities are “disgustingly negligent.”

More at: https://www.dailywire.com/news/47888...es-joseph-curl