Rat bites leave Nair patient bloodied

In a telling example of poor administration in civic-run hospitals, a diabetic patient at Nair Hospital was allegedly bitten by rats, leaving him bloodied, which made the facility’s administrators seek immediate help from pest control department to counter the menace.

Farhana, a relative of the patient, Mohammed, said, “Due to diabetes, he could not feel the pain. We noticed only when blood started oozing out from his body and saw that rats had nibbled several parts of his left leg.”

Hospital administration, however, claimed that necessary measures had been taken to rein in pests.

Dean of Nair Hospital, Dr Ramesh Bharmal, said, “We have taken cognisance of the incident. I was informed that rats injured the patient. We conducted an inquiry and have taken precautionary measures to control the rat menace in the hospital. We have put a net to curb rats from entering the wards; we even contacted the pest control department and civic department to tackle the menace. We have involved departments such as pest control, water, insecticide and animal disease control in tackling the issue.”

“Since leptospirosis is on the rise and rats are the main culprits behind spreading the disease, the hospital has taken speedy measures to restrain such incidents and infections from spreading,” added Dr Bharmal.

Leptospirosis, caused by a corkscrew-shaped bacterium called Leptospira Interrogans, is often referred to as “rat fever” owing to the role played by rats in spreading the disease.