RAT PRINTS IN THE SAND!

As humans leave their foot prints in the sands of time, so do RATS. These rodents of various species have superseded us on the wall of lifetime achievements (as early as 1347 AD - Black death (plague) and 2009 - Lassa Fever). They have a shorter life span than we do but are more efficient in leaving a trail. Yes, A trail! These cosmopolitan rats migrated decades ago from the wilds to the cities where they join humans in creating viable businesses for themselves.

I would like to believe however that they are unaware of the disaster they leave on their trail. Such disasters include disease carriage, property destruction and food contamination to mention a few. Diseases contacted from these rodents depending on the specie include Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Leptospirosis, Eosinophilic meningitis and Lassa fever to mention just a few. Some of these diseases are deadly and are easily contacted through consumption of food and water contaminated by the rat’s urine, droppings and saliva.

The Lassa fever which is one of the most recently occurring diseases in Nigeria is particularly worrisome. Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic disease caused by the mutlimammate rat otherwise known as the Black Rat. Infection of Lassa fever may pass unnoticed in some people who come in contact with the virus, but in others, symptoms start from fever, to increased body weakness, headache, sore throat, chest pain, to diarrhoea, breathing problems and ultimately bleeding from every opening in the body. You might find the Black rat in dirty, overcrowded communities. The saddest part about this Lassa fever issue is that there are no vaccines for prevention but drugs exist for treatment at an early stage of detection.

It is expedient then that we keep our environment clean to prevent these diseases. If you have a rat problem in your home, I urge you to use all the method that you can think of to get rid of them. There are different catchers such as the gum board, metal trapper which have proven effective over the years. However, you must agree with me that these rats update their knowledge on technologies humans use to trap them so I press further that you use rat poisons too (but keep away from children. When you have done your best, you can be assured that the rat prints in the sand will disappear gradually and you can be healthy enough to put your own foot prints in the same of time.