The Homeless Camps’ Disease Trifecta

Welcome to the homeless encampment disease trifecta: the unhygienic camps themselves, the infectious illnesses they spawn, and the rulings that prevent cleanup

Activists help protect homeless people from being displaced by street cleaning and power washing from the Los Angeles Sanitation service in Hollywood, Calif., on Feb. 8, 2021. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

The Portland, Oregon, area is currently experiencing an explosion of shigellosis, a highly infectious, often antibiotic-resistant intestinal disease caused by contact with human feces.