Karwar, dhns: “A number of cases of rat fever have been reported in Uttara Kannada district as the district received copious rain this year. A total of 25 cases of rat fever (leptospirosis) were reported and three of them have died till now”, said District Surveillance Officer Vinod Bhute. 

Speaking at a press conference in Karwar on Saturday, Bhute said that rat fever is generally seen between August and September. But this year, cases were reported between January and September. Till now, two people in Bhatkal and one in Ankola have died due to rat fever. In the year 2015, one person had died of the total 12 persons affected with rat fever. In the year 2016, 25 cases were reported and in 2017, 21 cases were found. One person had died in each of those years.

Bhute said that necessary precautionary measures had been taken to check the spread of the disease. Programmes were being held to make people aware of the disease. Some staff members had been entrusted with the task of detecting the cases.

District Health Officer G N Ashokakumar explained that rat-bite fever was caused by bacteria transmitted by rodents (like rats) to human by the rodent’s urine or mucous secretions. These rodents generally come to fields during cropping to eat paddy. Hence, people must wear chappals while working in fields. The bacteria may enter the body through some cuts or wounds in the leg. Common symptoms of the rat fever include high-grade fever, severe muscle pain, headache, nausea, and vomiting. 

Vector-borne Disease Control Officer Ramesh Rao said that 21 cases of malaria, 68 cases of dengue, three cases of chikungunya and one case of brain fever have been reported in the district. He advised people to keep their surroundings clean and consume clean food and water (boiled and cooled). 

He asked people to visit government health centres in case of fever or any other health problem.