Reported cases of a deadly infection caused by rat urine exposure have almost doubled in a year, officials are warning. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is warning healthcare providers to be on the lookout for human leptospirosis — a potentially deadly infection often caused by exposure to rat urine — amid an uptick in reported cases. The number of reported cases of leptospirosis skyrocketed to 24 in 2023, up from an average of 15 per year from 2021 to 2023, compared to just 3 per year from 2001 to 2020. There have been six reported cases so far in 2024, health officia…