In a really interesting article from the Los Angeles Times, the outbreak of Hepatitis A in San Diego is exhaustively covered, except for the cause – rampant homelessness.
Health officials in San Diego have scrambled for months to contain an outbreak of hepatitis A — vaccinating more than 19,000 people, putting up posters at bus stations and distributing hand sanitizer and cleansing wipes.
Despite those efforts, 16 people have died of the highly contagious virus in San Diego County and hundreds have become ill in what officials say is the nation’s second-largest outbreak of hepatitis A in decades.
Earlier this month, San Diego officials declared a public health emergency.
Though Los Angeles has so far escaped an outbreak, public health officials are hoping to head off a similar emergency. They say the virus could easily spread to Los Angeles because of its proximity to San Diego and the region’s large homeless population.
“We know it’s getting worse in San Diego so we’re really ramping up,” said Cristin Mondy, the county’s area health officer for a region that includes downtown Los Angeles.
While they mention homelessness, they ignore an alarming statistic that could explain the outbreak – an almost FIVE TIMES as big growth in homelessness in downtown San Diego as in the rest of the country.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported the stats:
The number of homeless people across the county increased 5 percent in the past year, while those living on the streets of downtown San Diego spiked 27 percent, according to a report based on an annual count conducted in January.
Another big regional jump in homelessness was in inland North County, which had an 11 percent increase from last year.
The economy seems to be improving, even if it’s slow, so why is homelessness increasing? I wonder if it’s because people are choosing a lifestyle to avoid work. Sure, there are many that are simply hard on their luck, but there are others who are choosing to be…
Here’s a video news report saying they’re now thinking of declaring a state of emergency over it:
San Diego used to be one of the most beautiful U.S. cities….