Diseased rat urine has killed at least one person and sickened two others in New York City in an outbreak of a rarely seen infection.
The outbreak of leptospirosis began in December and all three cases were traced to a single block in the Bronx, New York's northernmost borough.
NY City officials said on Wednesday it was the first ever "cluster" of cases in the city's history.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection spread by rodents and other animals that can cause fever, vomiting and kidney damage. It can be treated with antibiotics but is sometimes deadly.
Two people were diagnosed in December and the third in February, the department said.
While one died, the other two have since recovered. The department did not identify the patients, nor say exactly how it thought the three people were exposed to the infected rat urine. Typically, humans get infected through contact with tainted water.
One of the people who fell sick lived in an apartment building on the block that city officials said was known for its rat infestations, while the other two were known to frequently visit the block.
The mayor's office noted that the building's landlord is accused of 79 building code violations. On Wednesday city workers cleared out garbage, plugged holes and set traps in the infested apartment building.
The Red Cross was helping to relocate residents of eight apartments the landlord had illegally created in the basement, the mayor's office said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are 100 to 200 cases of leptospirosis each year in the country.
