Occupational hazards: Health conditions ripe for disaster, officials fear

By Laurel J. Sweet, Dave Wedge and John Zaremba
Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Food-borne illnesses, a flu outbreak, hypothermia, sexually transmitted diseases and vermin are just some of the hazards experts say make Occupy Boston a public health disaster waiting to happen — as City Hall turns a blind eye.

“The longer you’ve got a big group of people in an unsanitary location, the more at risk they’re going to be for infectious diseases. Time is only beginning to tell where this is going to go,” said Janelle Vaesa, a public health researcher who has studied similar deteriorating conditions at Occupy Wall Street in New York.

San Francisco health officials report they’ve subjected that city’s two Occupy sites to twice-daily inspections, and have found a rash of food, garbage and other sanitation issues. the rest

When it became apparent Occupy San Franciso was there for the long haul, that city’s Health Department began inspecting, spokeswoman Eileen Shields said: “Hand-washing is a problem. Garbage is a problem. They’re mixing it with medical waste. Food preparation, food is stored on the ground, food is not being served at the correct temperature. The usual things you might expect to find in people camping outdoors.”