Once-Rare Disease Spread by Rats Sees Resurgence

Roxanna Zafar lost her beloved 12-week-old puppy to a bacterial infection, leptospirosis, which 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. Leptospirosis can also spread to humans. There have been 15 cases reported in New York recently, which is more than the last decade.