More People Sickened from Mysterious Illness in Skid Row Area

LOS ANGELES, CA — For the second time in the past week, multiple people in Skid Row came down with a mysterious illness. It's not immediately clear what sickened them.

At least five people became ill Monday in the 400 block of East Fifth Street, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said. The incident, which was reported at around 10:30 a.m., was still ongoing, and that number could change, she said.

The patients could be suffering from a reaction to an illicit substance or intoxicant, but the cause has not been definitively identified, Stewart said.

SEE ALSO:

• 18 Stricken with Mystery Illness in Downtown LA

The fire department has closed one or more lanes in the immediate area while the department investigates, and motorists were advised to avoid the area, she said.

On Friday, 50 people became ill in the 200 block of East Fifth Street from what police believe was a bad batch of a synthetic drug, possibly Spice.

Officers believed those experiencing symptoms of illness had consumed synthetic drugs from the same batch because of the large volume of calls within the same time frame.

Within a 24-hour span in April, about 10 people, including a police bicycle officer, were sickened in the area of San Pedro and Fifth streets, not far from these two incidents, by an unknown substance or intoxicant.

At the time, officers assigned to the area spread the word that it appeared a drug being circulated was making people sick, but authorities didn't figure out what caused the illnesses, and no one was arrested.

— City News Service contributed to this report.