Roxanna Zafar, Roxanna’s 12-week-old puppy, died from a bacterial infection called Leptospirosis. This is a disease 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. According to reports, workers protested COVID-19 vaccine mandates in state.
Leptospirosis can also spread to humans and there have been 15 cases reported in New York recently, which is more than have been seen in the last decade, according to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. One person has been confirmed to have died of the infection. There are fears that the spread of the infection could worsen.
The infection is usually spread by contact with water, soil or food contaminated with an infected animal’s urine.
“I don’t want anyone else to suffer,”Zafar spoke out for Inside Edition.
