In the name of public health, California’s Democratic leaders have banned mundane modernities like papaya-flavored vape pods and plastic straws. Meanwhile, they rigorously ignore public health nightmares more common to the medieval era. The sprawling homeless camps of Los Angeles are linked to rat infestations, sewage-strewn streets, and typhus.

The latest health warning from the CDC warns that an even older disease threatens the City of Angels: leprosy. Dr. Marc Siegel, professor of medicine and medical director at Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Health, shared his concerns at The Hill:

According to the CDC, there are between 100 and 200 new cases of leprosy reported in the U.S. every year. A study just released from the Keck Medical Center at the University of Southern California looked at 187 leprosy patients treated at its clinic from 1973 to 2018 and found that most were Latino, originating from Mexico, where the disease is somewhat more common, and that there was on average a three-year delay in diagnosis, during which time the side effects of the disease — usually irreversible, even with treatment — began to occur. Leprosy is still more prevalent in Central America and South America, with more than 20,000 new cases per year. Given that, there is certainly the possibility of sporadic cases of leprosy continuing to be brought across our southern border undetected. And it seems only a matter of time before leprosy could take hold among the homeless population in an area such as Los Angeles County, with close to 60,000 homeless people and 75 percent of those lacking even temporary shelter or adequate hygiene and medical treatment. All of those factors make a perfect cauldron for a contagious disease that is transmitted by nasal droplets and respiratory secretions with close repeated contact.

Instead of worrying about non-issues like vaping and straws, California’s leaders should focus on the real health threats endangering their communities. The home of so many high-tech companies shouldn’t host conditions straight out of the Biblical era.