NEW YORK – A year after New York City anointed the czar to fight rats, health officials are seeing a spike in cases of a rare disease linked to rat urine.
Sanitation workers who collect the city’s garbage and are frequently exposed to rats say they have varying rates of cases of leptospirosis, an illness caused by exposure to rat urine.
Union president Harry Nespoli said one union trustee experienced severe symptoms from the disease and was given last rites before recovering. Uniform hygiene association, representing employees of the Department of Health.and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Warning about increasing trend in number of infected people Last week, another employee was hospitalized with symptoms, he said.
“The streets look cleaner, but the rats are still there,” Nespoli told USA TODAY. “Look, they were here before us.”
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New York City had 24 cases in 2023, the highest number of cases reported in any year, said Dr. Celia Quinn, New York City’s deputy health secretary and chief of disease control, in an April 12 advisory from the Department of Health. Stated. This year, as of April 10, there have already been six cases of infection.
Between 2001 and 2023, there were 98 cases in New York, with about a quarter of those occurring in 2023 alone, according to health department statistics. Some experienced acute kidney and liver failure, while others had severe respiratory illness. Six people have died in just over 20 years.
Almost all cases were male, and the median age at infection was 50 years. The Bronx has the highest number of cases at 37, followed by Manhattan with 28, Brooklyn with 19, Queens with 10 and Staten Island with four.
In April 2023, Mayor Eric Adams appointed the city’s first “Rat Emperor.” Its mission is to reduce pest populations and promote cleaner streets and new approaches to garbage collection. The City Council also considered an ordinance that would use birth control programs to reduce the rat population.
According to the sanitary workers’ union Nespoli, six sanitary workers contracted the disease in 2024. Five of the 24 cases last year occurred among health workers, he added.
Nespoli said exposure to the disease is an employment risk for garbage collection workers. This can happen when a worker’s gloves become wet and soft, making it easier for rat urine to penetrate. He advised workers to change their gloves frequently.
Nespoli added that no health workers have died from the disease.However, the prospect of such a scenario makes the state Union-backed bill This will provide benefits to employees and their families if they become disabled or die from illness.
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City Department of Health spokesman Vincent Gragnani said in an email that the department is in frequent contact with employees about how to prevent leptospirosis. Workers are encouraged to wear gloves to prevent contact with rat urine and other hazards. The department also said it is reminding employees not to touch their faces with their work gloves.
As the city moves more trash into containers, sanitation workers will have less direct contact with trash and garbage bags, he said. He added that putting garbage in bins also reduced the number of reported rat sightings, which numbered 311 last year, with 6.3% reductions citywide and 14.3% in rat-proof areas. By fall, about 70% of all the city’s trash will be in containers, which city officials expect will further reduce the rat population.
The health department said in an email that it worked with the health department’s occupational health division to educate city employees on occupational risks and safety procedures, including through personal protective equipment. The department held a virtual event Wednesday to inform employees about leptospirosis and other health risks.
“We will continue to take steps to ensure city staff are aware of best practices,” the email said.
The Ministry of Health said in an advisory last week that leptospirosis is spread through bacteria in the urine of infected animals. It is transmitted through direct contact with contaminated water, soil, or food, and enters the body through wounds and mucous membranes. Certain bacteria in New York City include the Norway rat, Large brown variety historically found Run through city trash cans, roads, subways, basements, and sewers. Diseases are rarely transmitted between people. Health officials said people are most likely to become infected through contact with areas where infected rats have urinated, especially when handling garbage bags and trash cans.
Symptoms of leptospirosis
The disease’s incubation period is usually 5 to 14 days, but it can become active after 2 days or take a month to show symptoms. Symptoms in people vary widely but include fever, headache, diarrhea, jaundice, and rash. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, without treatment, the disease can cause kidney failure, meningitis, liver damage, and breathing difficulties.
City health officials noted in their advisory that leptospirosis is usually killed by subzero temperatures or dry heat. But the excessive rain and unseasonably high temperatures associated with climate change have increased the chances for bacteria to survive, which may help explain how they came to thrive in New York City. . Officials noted that the weather in June and October 2023 was hotter and more humid compared to the previous year, when 10 of the 24 cases occurred that year.
Health authorities called on local health workers to report infected cases as soon as possible.
Efforts to control rat populations were brought back into focus earlier this year following the death of Flaco, the famous owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo and took up residence in New York City. In February, Flaco died after crashing into a building in Manhattan. Bronx Zoo Veterinary Pathologist Elevated levels of rat poison were found in his body, which impaired his ability to fly.
