‘Rat Fever’ Adds to Flood-Hit Kerala’s Woes; State on High Alert After 12 Deaths in Last 3 Days, 372 Confirmed Cases

Kerala has been put on high alert for three weeks amid the surge in cases of rat fever which comes after the state suffered the worst floods in a century.

Kozhikode: Amid the gigantic task of rehabilitating lakhs of people rendered homeless, flood-ravaged Kerala is now hit with the waterborne disease leptospirosis, locally known as ‘rat fever’, which has claimed 12 lives since August 1. Also, there are 372 confirmed cases and 719 suspected cases of rat fever in the state.

Kerala has been put on high alert for three weeks amid the surge in cases of rat fever which comes after the state suffered the worst floods in a century, which left 488 people dead, 54.11 lakh in 14 districts severely hit and causing at least 200 billion rupees worth of damage.

Leptospirosis, or rat fever, is transmitted via the urine of infected animals. Common symptoms of the disease include headache, muscle pain, jaundice and diarrhoea. Leptospirosis rarely spreads from person to person and can be treated with common antibiotics.

The state health ministry had last month warned about the outbreak of leptospirosis and other waterborne diseases and had even began distributing preventive medicine, said Health Minister KK Shailaja.

“There is no need to panic… The high incidence is on account of the floods. Despite several advisories, people are not listening and taking preventive medicines as advised,” she said.

She said that all the hospitals had been equipped with medicines to the needy.

Earlier today, a Reuters report quoted a health ministry spokesman saying that the death toll could rise to 40 pending full medical reports.

With Kozhikode reporting the maximum number of cases, an isolation ward has been opened at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.