Posted on 02/15/2017 8:13:40 AM PST by HarleyLady27
A rare bacterial disease linked to rats — and normally only seen in animals — has killed one person in the Bronx and left two others fighting for their lives, city officials reported Tuesday.
The three cases of leptospirosis were identified within a one-block radius of the Concourse section of the borough over the past two months, the Health Department said.
“Human leptospirosis cases are very rare in New York City,” explained Demetre Daskalakis, acting deputy commissioner of the Health Department.
“This is the first time a cluster of cases has been identified,” he said. “All three cases had severe illness and were hospitalized with acute renal [kidney] and hepatic [liver] failure. Two cases developed pulmonary hemorrhage and one died as a result of infection.”
The two patients who were sick eventually recovered and were discharged, Daskalakis added.
One of them was Braulio Balbuena Flores, who lives in a basement apartment at 750 Grand Concourse, near Franz Sigel Park.
He told The Post on Tuesday night that he spent two weeks at Lincoln Hospital in intensive care after being admitted on Jan. 27 in gravely ill condition.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Ping...
Hmmm, wonder how the lepto got here . . . Wonder how Braulio got here ?
I’m sickened by the Rats, too.
Heck of a thing to put in your obituary.
I didn't read any more than the excerpt. Did he thank the U.S. taxpayers for footing this bill?
So, is the “The Stand” or “The Strain?”
Either way does not work out well for folks.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects both humans and animals. Humans become infected through direct contact with the urine of infected animals or with a urine-contaminated environment. The bacteria enter the body through cuts or abrasions on the skin, or through the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and eyes. Person-to-person transmission is rare.
http://www.who.int/topics/leptospirosis/en/
Bump, thanks for posting this.
There’s an exception Discovery documentary currently available on Netflix called “Rat”.
Watched it recently, and was quite an eye opener. Not for the faint of heart or squeamish.
I may never visit NYC again.
“affects both humans and animals”
We have been removed from the animal kingdom?
I keep a stock of masks, Tyvec suits, goggles, gloves, booties, white duct tape and disinfectant spray. Bit of a prepper, I guess. A pandemic is not beyond possibility.
The influenza or flu pandemic of 1918 to 1919, the deadliest in modern history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide–about one-third of the planet’s population at the time–and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims. More than 25 percent of the U.S. population became sick, and some 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic. The 1918 flu was first observed in Europe, the U.S. and parts of Asia before swiftly spreading around the world. Surprisingly, many flu victims were young, otherwise healthy adults. At the time, there were no effective drugs or vaccines to treat this killer flu strain or prevent its spread. In the U.S., citizens were ordered to wear masks, and schools, theaters and other public places were shuttered. Researchers later discovered what made the 1918 pandemic so deadly: In many victims, the influenza virus had invaded their lungs and caused pneumonia.
My mother and grandmother both almost dies from the 1918 flu!
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