History in Gush Dan: the light rail has started/Reuven Castro
A dramatic increase in the number of patients with the disease "mouse typhus" ("rickettsia"), with the reason for the assessment of the medical teams - the construction work and the excavation of the light rail in Tel Aviv, which causes many rats and mice to come out on the surface and roam the streets of the city - which, it seems, causes an increase in morbidity.
According to data from the Wolfson Hospital, between the years 2016 and 2021, a single case of a patient with the disease was recorded, while in 2022 and 2023, the years in which excavation work began in the area, 16 cases of illness were recorded.
A similar trend is also recognized at the Ichilov Hospital and they report that in the last year and a half they have seen at least four cases of morbidity, the direct cause of which is probably from rats and mice.
Dr. Yael Faran, an expert in internal medicine and infectious diseases, director of the infectious diseases unit and deputy director of the infectious diseases department at Ichilov explains that this is a significant increase, since looking at the last few years, there can be a year without a single case at all and sometimes only one case a year.
"I assume that what we in the hospital see are only the severe cases. It is a disease with a wide range - from a disease without symptoms, through a fever that can go away on its own, to a severe disease that can cause hospitalization and even arrival at the intensive care unit due to systemic failure. I am convinced that there are cases in the community that go away on their own or those that passed after treatment without a diagnosis being made," says Lavala!
Dr. Faran.
Dr. Faran clarifies that "the important thing is that doctors should take the disease into account, since there is an increase in it in Greater Tel Aviv and also in Bnei Brak, and they will take the right tests to diagnose it in time. In addition, the Ministry of Sanitation and Health and the local municipalities Pest control efforts should be made."
Going above ground due to light rail construction/ShutterStock
Is the light rail really to blame?
At the Wolfson Hospital they did find a connection between the working route of the train and the addresses of the patients who arrived.
"In the last two years, 16 patients have arrived at the hospital, while five years before only one case was registered. This is not a matter of attention or special tests, but suddenly the disease has become widespread and this is a dramatic increase," explains Prof. Yasmin Maor, director of the infectious diseases unit at the hospital The Wolfson Hospitals.
In terms of severity, not all patients who arrived at the hospital were seriously ill, but some of them ended up in intensive care.
"We feel that there are a lot of rats in the area of Tel Aviv, Holon and Bat Yam - because we simply encounter them. And I know that there is also an increase in Bnei Brak and there was also an accumulation of cases. So we thought about what changed during this period. Dr. Iris Zohar, senior physician in the disease unit Infectiousness, raised the thought that there was a connection to the construction of the light rail route, and we really saw that people with this disease lived in close proximity to the railway excavations.
It's not unequivocal proof, but it's an association that sounds reasonable."
According to her, "Half of the people who came to the hospital with the disease reported that they were in direct or indirect contact with rats or mice - seen in the house or in the yard, and half of them were not.
But it makes sense because some of the fleas move to the grass and jump on those who pass by."
"One way or another, we know that rats transmit other diseases such as distemper, and there are cases of people being bitten by rats, so there is no doubt that we need to increase extermination efforts and reduce the amount of rats," she summarizes
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What is the mouse type?
The disease is a bacterial disease caused by a bacterium of the "rickettsia" family that is transmitted to humans by insects, mainly through the bite of fleas or ticks.
The infection process works so that the tick sucks the blood of an infected animal, then when it sucks the blood of a person, it transfers the bacteria to him as well and infects him.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of the disease range from a mild disease that goes away without treatment, to a severe disease that can lead to complications such as multi-system damage and even death.
The main symptoms are a combination of high fever, headaches and after a few days the appearance of a rash.
The typical rash appears on the soles of the feet and palms of the hands.
The symptoms of the disease can sometimes appear a few weeks after the bite, so it is sometimes difficult to identify the connection between the bite and the disease.
The diagnosis is made based on a combination of the symptoms as well as blood tests including blood counts and serological tests (antibodies), but when there is a high clinical suspicion, targeted antibiotic treatment is given to prevent complications.
How are you treated?
The treatment of the disease is quite simple and includes antibiotics, usually the antibiotic prescription drug doxylin, in which the active ingredient is doxycycline.
It is used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms.
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light rail
Mice
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