The plague of rats is one that afflicts the entire country, with occasional media reports of cases in which humans have been bitten by the animal, as was reported yesterday (Sunday) in a case that occurred last week, in which a baby only a few weeks old was bitten in the face by a rat.
In an attempt to understand how rats appear and multiply so quickly, how they can be eradicated, and what should be done if a rat bites a toddler, we spoke with Dr. Rafi Kishon from the veterinary clinic in Ramat Aviv. According to him, the rat is a very smart animal, whose brain-to-body ratio is similar to that of humans and dolphins, which indicates that it is a particularly sophisticated animal, one that is constantly "on guard" to guard against the many animals that want to devour it, including snakes, birds of prey and more.
"Rats live all over the planet, and you have a huge ability to reproduce," Dr. Kishon told Israel Hayom. "They are omnivorous, meaning they can eat both simple and complex things. Due to this situation, in order to prevent the spread of rats, every visible food source, including garbage, must be removed from residential areas and a very strong hygiene policy. Later on, there is a means of monitoring and infection that helps fight them."
Small but dangerous. Rat, photo: Getty Images
Another way to fight rats is by using another animal – the cat. "Street cats and domestic cats play a very important role in preying on mice and rats. In other words, instead of throwing stones at cats and instead of expelling them, the public should be actively educated to recognize the value of cats," he elaborated.
Dr. Kishon described an incident that took place about 20 years ago in South Korea, when there were a lot of street cats in the country, from which the government decided to part ways on the grounds that they were disturbing the public – but not long after, thousands of rats, mice and rats disappeared from the domestication canals and the darkness of the earth – and "flooded" the city. "They raided all the places and reached every corner. They sabotaged property and food, damaged cables and electrical wires, caused enormous economic damage and severely damaged the health of thousands of people," he said. "Rats, rats and mice are dangerous transmitters of diseases to humans, such as leptospirosis, plague and rabies, which have already wiped out hundreds of thousands of people around the world." Rats are very dangerous to babies and small children, as they are able to bite hard and cause serious damage. Depending on the disappearance, the number of snakes approaching human habitation also steadily increased. In order to cope with this new and unexpected phenomenon, the Koreans began importing cats and raising them specifically to save them from the plague of rats."
What should be done if bitten by a rat?
"You have to treat such a bite like any other injury, check if the person who was bitten received a tetanus shot and also check that there is no infection at the site of the bite. If necessary, see your family doctor as soon as possible. Regarding the fear of a rabies outbreak following the epidemic of these rodents, the Ministry of Health needs to set a policy that will determine whether this concern is real – and if it happens, then it should be acted upon."
Very smart. Rat, photo: AFP.
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