Overview
- Two people who lived together in a severely rat‑infested RV contracted leptospirosis, and one of them died in May after delayed care while the other survived following extended hospitalization.
- City records say the RV’s occupants had been trapping, feeding and breeding wild rats; Alameda County Vector Control removed nearly 200 rats before the vehicle was towed and destroyed.
- Expanded testing around the RV and the Harrison Street encampment found a higher‑than‑expected prevalence of Leptospira in local rats, prompting Berkeley to retire its earlier red/yellow zones.
- Berkeley Public Health issued guidance for clinicians to consider testing and start antibiotics when suspicion is high without waiting for lab confirmation, and launched targeted outreach, sanitation work and free dog vaccinations.
- Officials say the risk to most residents and businesses remains very low, but they warn that crowded, unsanitary sites with heavy rat infestations raise the chance of infection and that early treatment prevents severe disease.