Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. In humans, it can cause a wide range of symptoms, some of which may be mistaken for other diseases. Some infected persons, however, may have no symptoms at all. 
 
 Without treatment, Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death. ||||| Photo 
 
 New York City is investigating three recent cases — one of them fatal — of a rare disease transmitted through rat urine that have occurred in the Grand Concourse neighborhood of the Bronx, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 
 
 This is the first time a cluster of the cases of the disease, leptospirosis, has been identified, according to an alert issued by the department on Tuesday. From 2006 to 2016, 26 cases were reported in the city; the Bronx had the highest number, eight. 
 
 The three most recent cases occurred in the past two months. All the patients became severely sick and were hospitalized with acute kidney and liver failure, the health department said. One died as a result of an infection. The two who survived have been released from the hospital. 
 
 The sexes and ages of those infected were not available. The department did not specifically identify the location of the cluster. 
 
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 All but one of the 26 previously reported cases occurred in men. 
 
 Infections commonly occur through exposure to rat urine, which can enter the body through the eyes, nose or mouth, or through wounds and cuts in the skin, the department said. Infection can also occur through contact with infected animals, soil or food. It is rarely spread from person to person. 
 
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 Though it can be serious, the illness is treatable with common antibiotics. City agencies have taken “immediate measures” to reduce the rat population in the area and are educating tenants about symptoms and treatment, according to a city statement. 
 
 Some people who are infected may have no symptoms while others may have a fever, headache, chills, muscle ache, vomiting or diarrhea. 
 
 Health officials recommend washing hands thoroughly after contact with areas where rats may live, always wearing shoes while taking garbage to the trash compactor room, and avoiding contact with rats or places where they may have urinated. ||||| EMBED More News Videos Rob Nelson has the latest details. 
 
 New York City's Health Department says it is taking steps to reduce the rat population, after one person died and two others became severely ill in the Bronx from a rare disease transmitted by rats. Health officials will also be educating tenants about the bacterial infection behind the cases, called leptospirosis.Two patients were diagnosed in December and one in February. Two of the patients recovered while one has died.The person who died is a man in his 30s, according to a city official.The Medical Examiner's office investigated and determined the cause of the man's death in December was leptospirosis. The manner of death was deemed natural.The Health Department released a statement saying, "The Health Department has identified a cluster of three cases of leptospirosis on one block in the Concourse area of the Bronx. Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that is most commonly spread by contact with rat urine and is very rarely spread from person to person."It is the first cluster of leptospirosis cases ever identified in New York City."I want to make clear that this is a very rare infection," said New York City Health Commissioner Mary Bassett. "Since 2006, we've seen some 26 cases here in New York City."At the building in question, 750 Grand Concourse, a team from the health department worked all day long Wednesday on abatement, laying rat traps, plugging holes in the walls and pipes, disposing of improperly handled garbage, and inspecting apartments.The owner of 750 Grand Concourse, Ved Parkash, owns at least five buildings that have violations, and is 5th on the list of the city's worst landlords."Immediately when this first came to our attention on Monday, we dispatched a team here to take a look at the building and they identified a problem with rodent infestation and garbage management," said Bassett.44-year-old Braulio Balbuena Flores lived in the basement of the building and is one of the people who got the rat-borne disease, and survived.His brother said Flores spent two weeks in Lincoln Hospital.NEW YORK CITY HEALTH COMMISSIONER NEWS CONFERENCE:- Avoid contact with rats or with places where rats may have urinated.- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after any contact with areas where rats may live.- If you cannot avoid areas where rats have been seen, or are cleaning areas where rats have been, use a solution of one part household bleach and 10 parts water to kill the leptospirosis bacteria.- Protect yourself from contact with their urine: wear rubber gloves (especially if you have any cuts or sores on your hands or arms), boots, masks and some type of eyewear.The CDC says that without treatment, Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress and death.Read more: https://www.cdc.gov/leptospirosis/
– New York City rats are big, ugly, and now apparently deadly. City health authorities are investigating three cases of poisoning by rat urine, one of them fatal, the New York Times reports. The victims of leptospirosis were all in the Bronx, the first such cluster of the rare disease reported in a city infamous for its robust rodents. The health department issued an alert on Tuesday following the death of a man in his 30s. Two of the bacterial infections occurred in December and one this month, per ABC7. All three people were hospitalized with acute kidney and liver failure, and two have recovered and been released. In the past 10 years, leptospirosis has sickened 26 people in the city, eight of them in the Bronx. The outbreak prompted the health department to take steps to curb the garbage-trolling rodents and educate residents about the risk. Infections are usually spread when rat urine comes in contact with the eyes, nose, mouth, or through a cut in the skin. People were urged to avoid contact with rats, obviously, but also to clean rodent hot spots with a bleach solution while wearing gloves, boots, mask, and protective eyewear. At an apartment building where one of the three was sickened, residents on Wednesday sought help from the city in having a court-appointed representative take over operations from their landlord, reports DNA Info. "We stand with the tenants," said a statement from Mayor DeBlasio that cited "persistent problems" at the building. (Pet rats were blamed for an outbreak of this rare virus.)