Rats in New York spread a dangerous infection: dogs die from it and people can get hurt

A puppy named Disco lived in Roxy Zafar's house just 10 days ago before he got sick leptospirosis and died. Now she wants other pet owners to know about the disease and not experience such losses. This is reported Fox News.

Zafar, 34, lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She said she had never heard of leptospirosis until last month when Disko got sick.

According to US Centers for Control and Prevention diseases (CDC), leptospirosis is a bacterial disease. It affects animals and humans and is spread through the urine of infected animals. In New York City, rodents and dogs are the most common culprits, said Caroline Brown, MD, vice president of medicine at ASPCA Community Medicine.

Leptospirosis can cause kidney or liver damage, Brown said. In some cases, the disease leads to death from organ damage.

The first symptoms in Disco

Zafar said that on October 3, she brought Disco home for the first time. According to her, the energetic puppy adapted well to New York. But October 13 became "more sluggish than usual." That night, Disco began to vomit, any attempt by the dog to eat anything turned into vomit.

Zafar called the nearest veterinarian who advised her to wait out the night as it could just be an upset stomach.

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But the 12-week Disco was getting worse. So the next morning, Zafar and her husband took the puppy to the local animal hospital. After a few days at the veterinary clinic, Disko's condition did not improve. The veterinarian advised to transfer the dog to another veterinary clinic. Disco had to undergo dialysis for $30, it was the only chance to save his life, and this clinic did not do such a procedure.

The veterinarian told them that the chance of recovery even after dialysis was less than 20%. Even if he does recover, it is possible that he will have lifelong organ damage.

After weighing the pros and cons, Zafar decided to put Disko to sleep, admitting that this was the only humane option.

Zafar wants everyone to know about the risks of leptospirosis

“He was just a little puppy and didn’t know what was going on, so we didn’t want to be selfish and make him go through this,” Zafar said.

After Disko's death, the girl made a leaflet about leptospirosis, which she posted on a local Facebook group to warn other pet owners about the dangerous disease.

“Immediately after his death, I was in shock, but somehow I pulled myself together. I really just wanted to talk about it,” Zafar said. "I felt like I didn't have enough control over what happened to Disco and tried to help others."

Dr. Jeremy Kimmelstil, veterinarian from Bond vet in New York, said that leptospirosis used to be considered a suburban or rural problem. The disease was previously known to be transmitted in the urine of deer, skunks, and raccoons. But in the last 10 years, the disease has been found in rats, making it a problem for cities.

According to New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City is seeing an increase in cases of leptospirosis in of people. As of the end of October in 2021, 14 cases of leptospirosis have been reported in New Yorkers. Of these, 13 were "hospitalized with acute renal and hepatic failure." One died.

Signs of leptospirosis

Brown of the ASPCA said cases of leptospirosis are most common "in summer and autumn, and in warmer areas with more annual rainfall."

Dogs with leptospirosis may show signs of fever, muscle soreness and lethargy, Brown says. Other signs include:

• loss of appetite;
• vomiting;
• diarrhea;
• jaundice;
• eye inflammation;
• nosebleeds;
• blood in urine or stool;
• changes in the amount and frequency of urination.

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Kimmelstiel said that in some cases, dogs may not show any symptoms. Mild forms of the disease can be treated with antibiotics. And cases of moderate severity may require hospitalization. Severe forms of leptospirosis in dogs are rare, but then saving the pet is very difficult. You may need expensive dialysis treatment with no guarantee of recovery.

Veterinarian recommendations

Veterinarians advise pet owners to watch their dogs not let them drink water from puddles or sewers.

The best thing pet owners can do is vaccinate of their pets from leptospirosis every year, experts said.

Zafar said that because she had not heard of leptospirosis before Disko became ill, the puppy was not vaccinated against the disease, although he was given a DHPP vaccine and other core vaccines were scheduled. Zafar said that she wished she knew about leptospirosis and the vaccine against it, then she would have vaccinated her pet.

“We are very sad,” Zafar said. “He was part of our family. We miss him every day.”