New York City is struggling with a record-breaking outbreak of a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection spread through exposure to rat urine, according to a recent report from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The infection, leptospirosis, can cause a range of flu-like symptoms but can also lead to kidney and liver failure if a severe case develops and is untreated.

In 2023, 24 people in New York City were diagnosed with leptospirosis, according to a report published last week by Celia Quinn, deputy commissioner of the Division of Disease Control for the city, exceeding the total number of cases reported in any prior year. 

Between January and April of this year, there have already been six reported infections. By comparison, the city recorded only 98 cases in the past 22 years.

Although the total number of infected individuals remains very low, the sharp rise is concerning for a city that has struggled with an exploding rodent population since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2023, New York City Mayor Eric Adams appointed the city’s first director of rodent mitigation, Kathleen Corradi, who quickly became known as the Big Apple’s “Rat Czar.” 

An August 2023 report published by pest control company MMPC estimated that there may be as many as 3 million rats in New York City, a 50% increase since 2010. City administrators and the state of New York are considering replacing poison and other extermination methods with chemical birth control for rats that hinder their reproductive capacities to curb the problem.

Cases of the disease in New York City are related to living or working in environments with rat urine and contaminated soil or water. Trash bags and food waste bins, in particular, can be contaminated.

Corradi did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.

Quinn’s message to physicians highlighted that the bacteria that cause leptospirosis are fragile and especially sensitive to cold environments.

“Excessive rain and unseasonably warm temperatures, factors associated with climate change, may support the persistence of leptospires in more temperate areas like NYC,” wrote Quinn.

Although New York City may have more rats in total numbers than most metropolitan areas, Washington, D.C., may have more rats per capita than New York City. In 2023, the district’s metro area ranked third in the nation for most pest sightings, including both rats and cockroaches, and it was ranked fourth in the nation for rat population in 2022.

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Director of Rodent Control for DC Health Gerard Brown said in 2022 that, in addition to milder winters, more people eating lunch at home post-pandemic has created more food waste in residential areas, inviting the pests.

DC Health did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.