Officials in New York City have issued a health advisory as the city faces a rise in cases of the deadly Human Leptospirosis disease, which is caused by exposure to rat urine.
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On Friday (April 12), the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene published a health advisory warning about the “continued increase in Leptospirosis cases in New York City.”
In the agency’s advisory, they defined Leptospirosis as “a zoonotic disease that is present globally and caused by several species of a spirochete bacteria of the genus Leptospira.” It’s noted that in NYC, the primary species of the bacteria is “Leptospira interrorgans,” from a serogroup called Icterohaemorrhagiae, which is associated with the Norway rat.
It’s further explained that infected animals excrete the bacteria through their urine and the bacteria can survive in warm and moist environments for weeks. The incubation period is usually 5–14 days, with a range of 2–30 days. However, Leptospira bacteria are fragile and can die within minutes in dry heat or freezing temperatures.
Additionally, transmission of the bacteria occurs when direct contact is made with infectious urine — like if urine-contaminated water, soil, or food enters the body via mucous membranes and/or open wounds. In NYC, the locally acquired cases show that those infected typically contracted the disease at home or at work via direct rat urine exposure or via rat urine-contaminated soil, water, or other materials.
According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene advisory released on Friday, 24 people were diagnosed with Leptospirosis in 2023 — exceeding the total number of cases reported to the agency in any year before that.
The advisory further notes that the average number of locally acquired cases from 2021 to 2023 was about 15 per year, with 3 cases per year from 2001 to 2020. As of April 10, 2024, there have been at least 6 cases reported so far.
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Of 98 local cases from 2001 to 2023, the median age was 50 years (total range 20 to 80 years). The cases also usually involved men, and were mostly reported from the Bronx (37), followed by Manhattan (28), Brooklyn (19), Queens (10), and Staten Island (4).
As for symptoms and reports of death, the agency’s advisory reports that clinically, those infected suffer from acute renal and hepatic failure, and occasionally severe pulmonary involvement, with 6 cases resulting in death.
Other symptoms include a wide spectrum of issues like fever, headache, chills, muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, conjunctival suffusion, jaundice, and rash. If not treated, kidney failure, meningitis, liver damage, and respiratory distress can occur. The agency also notes that diagnostic testing is available through most commercial laboratories and includes PCR testing on blood, urine, and CSF, plus serologic testing.
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