Baby rats sleep together © NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
(New York, NY) — The New York City Health Department says it’s worried about a spike in the number of New Yorkers becoming ill from a disease spread by rat urine. Leptospirosis is spread by infected Norway rats, the largest population of rats that race across the city. New Yorkers who have come down with Leptospirosis have reported muscle aches, fever and chills. In extreme cases the disease can lead to kidney and liver failure and meningitis.
The New York City Health Department says transmission of the disease comes through direct contact with the urine through contaminated water, and soil. 24 New Yorkers contracted the rat urine based disease last year. That was a record number. Six New Yorkers have come down with the disease so far this year. The vast majority of those sickened with Leptospirosis were in the Bronx. Most who get sick can be treated by antibiotics before the the more extreme effects of the illness kick in.
