New York City health officials have raised concerns over increasing cases of leptospirosis, a bacterial illness transmitted by rat urine.
The city saw 24 cases in 2023, which is four times more than the annual average — six — reported between 2001 and 2020. The disease, associated with exposure to common rat urine, presents with fever, headache, vomiting, and a host of other symptoms. It can cause severe complications, including kidney failure and meningitis, if untreated.
The health department’s Deputy Commissioner, Celia Quinn, issued a memo on April 12 outlining the risks and transmission modes of the disease. The majority of the cases from 2001 to 2023 were reported in the Bronx, 37, and Manhattan, 28, with six resulting in fatalities.
Quinn noted that seasons might play a role in disease transmission: leptospira bacteria struggle to survive in both extreme heat and cold conditions but may thrive in temperate climates with warmer and wetter conditions. More than half of the reported cases in 2023 occurred between June and October, coinciding with such weather conditions. Approximately 3 million rats are thought to infest New York City.
The city’s escalating rat problem has prompted Mayor Eric Adams to acknowledge the issue as a central factor driving people to leave.
