Leptospirosis, a disease that is spread by rats, was the cause of death. The city has seen the more recent cases than in a decade.
Roxanna Zafar lost her beloved 12-week-old puppy to a bacterial infection, Leptospirosis, a disease that is spread by rats.
The disease was once rare but is having a resurgence as rats feast on piles of garbage left uncollected on the streets of New York due to a work slowdown for sanitation workers. Workers have been protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the state, according to reports
Leptospirosis can also spread to humans and there have been 15 cases reported in New York recently, which is more than have been seen in the last decade, according to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. One person has died from the infection. There are reportedly fears that the outbreak could get worse.
The infection is usually spread by contact with water, soil or food contaminated with an infected animal’s urine.
“I don’t want anyone else to suffer,” Zafar told Inside Edition.
