This rare disease spreads through contact with rat urine. In New York, it has left 1 dead. stat : The Washington Post

(Reuters)One person died and two more fell seriously ill after contracting a disease that commonly spreads through "contact with rat urine," according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The New York Times reported that 26 cases of leptospirosis were reported in New York City from 2006 to 2016. Leptospirosis — which the health department also described as a "bacterial disease spread by animal urine, in this case by rats (not mice)" — is pretty rare in New York, according to the agency. "We have been in contact with the elected officials in the area, we've been in contact with the city. If someone comes in contact with areas where rats might live, the department suggests washing hands with soap and water afterward.




New York City health officials said it is the first concentrated cluster of leptospirosis, having seen just 26 cases across the city in the previous decade. One person has died and two are severely ill after a rare infection spread by rat urine broke out in New York City. Health officials have identified the cases as leptospirosis – a bacterial infection which can cause vomiting and bleeding among other symptoms. One died from the infection, also known as Weil's disease, but the other two survived and have been released from hospital. The disease is spread through animal fluids, most commonly rodents', and can enter a person's body through the eyes, nose and mouth or small cuts in the skin.


Although New York City typically gets one to three cases of leptospirosis every year, city officials said it is the first time a cluster of cases has been identified. "This illness can be serious but is treatable with readily available antibiotics," health officials said in a statement. The three cases of leptospirosis occurred in the last two months within a one-street radius of a neighbourhood in the Bronx.

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