Rodent’s can carry dangerous diseases such as typhus, plague and salmonella, in addition to their roles contributing to asthma.

“Contrary to common belief, being bitten by a rodent is rare and is not the most common way diseases are spread. Nonetheless, reports of city workers being bitten by rodents are on the rise – with most recent cases being reported in Los Angeles,” the report notes. “Two other vehicles of transmission are far more prevalent: fleas and urine droppings.”

The study also surveyed 23 pest control companies in California, and found that all of the reported that rat service requests were up almost 60 percent in the past year. Included in the study was a list of “rattiest cities” in the nation published by the pest-control company Orkin, which named Los Angeles as the second most rat-infested city in the nation behind Chicago.

At a press conference at Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday, DeMaio there were two particular reasons behind the rodent explosion.

“First, the homeless population increase, which provides a source of food which supports population growth,” he said. “Second, many local governments, including Los Angeles, have banned the most effective practices for detecting and eradicating rats.”

About three-quarters of the nearly 59,000 homeless people counted in Los Angeles County in the past year were living outdoors, fueling concerns of a growing public health crisis with piles of garbage and rats near homeless encampments lining downtown sidewalks.

Reform California said the rodent population can be controlled using the most effective tools for pest control, but Los Angeles discontinued use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides in 2014, a move the group claims that led to the spike.

The report, spearheaded by DeMaio and various vector control industry leaders, asks Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a public health emergency in the Golden State and require public entities to address the situation. It also calls on the state Legislature to oppose Assembly Bill 1788, which seeks to outlaw certain rodent-deterring products that use more robust chemicals but have concerned environmentalists….

(Excerpted from Fox News.)