LIFE IN THE BLUE ZONES: Typhus Epidemic Worsens in Los Angeles. “Greenwood believes she contracted typhus from fleas in her office at City Hall East. Fleas often live on rats, which congregate in the many heaps of trash that are visible across the city of LA, and are a breeding ground for typhus. ‘There are rats in City Hall and City Hall East,’ Greenwood added. ‘There are enormous rats and their tails are as long as their bodies.'”