One person has died and another recovered after contracting leptospirosis while living in a severely rat-infested RV near a Berkeley homeless encampment, according to a city memo released last month.
The two victims resided in the filthy vehicle roughly one mile from the Harrison Street encampment at Eighth and Harrison streets, where officials later traced an outbreak of the same disease to rats. Berkeley officials declared the sprawling camp a fire hazard and public nuisance following the outbreak and mounting concerns about its rat population.
“Both individuals had been living in a severely rat-infested RV about one mile from the Harrison Street encampment. Tragically, one of the patients died and one recovered after a lengthy hospitalization,” the June city memo stated.
The illness, known as leptospirosis, is a potentially deadly flu-like disease that can spread through contact with urine from infected animals. The disease is uncommon in Berkeley, as it is typically found in tropical climates such as Hawaii.
“Humans swim in the water, and then the bacteria that lives in the urine multiplies with warm weather and then gets into the cuts on the skin of humans or the eyes or dogs, too. That’s how people get sick,” an infectious disease specialist at UCSF told SFGATE.
Around 1 million people contract leptospirosis annually worldwide, resulting in approximately 60,000 deaths.
The city first became aware of a potential disease problem in December 2025, when veterinarians treated dogs that had become sick. Testing later confirmed rats in the encampment were carrying leptospirosis, prompting officials to issue a public health warning and urge residents to take precautions.
Berkeley officials specifically told pet owners to “ensure dogs have the leptospirosis vaccine” and called for the encampments to be shut down.
Despite repeated efforts to address the public health crisis, a full clearance of the dangerous camp was blocked multiple times due to court orders and lawsuits.
The city finally won court approval to remove the tents and structures, and clearance efforts began Tuesday. However, officials were ordered to help disabled residents relocate as part of the approved operation.
The revelation about the two RV residents adds another grim chapter to the city’s struggle with the rat-infested encampment as officials move to clear the site amid ongoing public health and safety concerns.
The Harrison Street encampment had become a focal point of Berkeley’s broader homelessness crisis, with rats thriving in the unsanitary conditions. The linkage between the encampment’s rat population and human illness marked a dangerous escalation in the long-running standoff between city officials, residents, and advocates.
Berkeley’s clearance operation comes after months of legal battles that delayed action even as the disease threat mounted. The court-mandated assistance for disabled residents reflects the complex balancing act officials face between public health imperatives and legal protections for vulnerable populations.
The city continues to monitor for additional leptospirosis cases as the clearance proceeds.