Rats the size of newborn babies. That is how patients, doctors and nurses describe an ongoing rat infestation at Dora Nginza Hospital. For the past year, they have had run-ins with the rodents roaming the halls of one of Nelson Mandela Bay’s biggest hospitals and, despite staff complaining repeatedly, nothing has been done.
We have read many horror stories from around the country over the years of rats terrorising communities, even killing babies, but fortunately there have been no incidents so far of rats biting people at Dora Nginza or any other damage of the type caused by rats.
But surely this situation cannot be allowed to degenerate even further to that point?
As the metro’s public health directorate’s solid waste assistant manager, Andisiwe Mcasa, said just a few weeks ago during a clean up of the Njoli Square area, rats can carry diseases that are harmful to people, and all it takes is one major infestation to affect the entire city.
While sometimes kept as cute pets and even being used in some post-war countries to detect landmines, rats have also been known to plague society for centuries.
Their ability to rapidly multiply, infiltrate homes, businesses and public spaces, and squeeze into tight spaces, make them particularly pesty and pesky.
Apart from the obvious hygiene and health hazards, rats can also chew through electrical wiring, causing power outages and posing a fire hazard.
Can you imagine, then, how much more devastating the impact of an infestation in a public hospital — where the health of vulnerable, helpless patients including babies is already compromised by virtue of the fact that they are seeking medical attention.
On top of that, can you imagine the impact of rats gnawing through the wiring of expensive, life-saving hospital equipment, especially at Dora Nginza, where we have read before about equipment shortages?
Eastern Cape health spokesperson Yonela Dekeda said the rat problem was being attended to as a matter of urgency, with a fumigation contractor on site, and, while we welcome the intervention, it should never have taken this long.
Those directly affected have been complaining for months and officials should have acted immediately.
HeraldLIVE
Rat infestation a public health nightmare
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Image: SUPPLIED
Rats the size of newborn babies. That is how patients, doctors and nurses describe an ongoing rat infestation at Dora Nginza Hospital. For the past year, they have had run-ins with the rodents roaming the halls of one of Nelson Mandela Bay’s biggest hospitals and, despite staff complaining repeatedly, nothing has been done.
We have read many horror stories from around the country over the years of rats terrorising communities, even killing babies, but fortunately there have been no incidents so far of rats biting people at Dora Nginza or any other damage of the type caused by rats.
But surely this situation cannot be allowed to degenerate even further to that point?
As the metro’s public health directorate’s solid waste assistant manager, Andisiwe Mcasa, said just a few weeks ago during a clean up of the Njoli Square area, rats can carry diseases that are harmful to people, and all it takes is one major infestation to affect the entire city.
While sometimes kept as cute pets and even being used in some post-war countries to detect landmines, rats have also been known to plague society for centuries.
Their ability to rapidly multiply, infiltrate homes, businesses and public spaces, and squeeze into tight spaces, make them particularly pesty and pesky.
Apart from the obvious hygiene and health hazards, rats can also chew through electrical wiring, causing power outages and posing a fire hazard.
Can you imagine, then, how much more devastating the impact of an infestation in a public hospital — where the health of vulnerable, helpless patients including babies is already compromised by virtue of the fact that they are seeking medical attention.
On top of that, can you imagine the impact of rats gnawing through the wiring of expensive, life-saving hospital equipment, especially at Dora Nginza, where we have read before about equipment shortages?
Eastern Cape health spokesperson Yonela Dekeda said the rat problem was being attended to as a matter of urgency, with a fumigation contractor on site, and, while we welcome the intervention, it should never have taken this long.
Those directly affected have been complaining for months and officials should have acted immediately.
HeraldLIVE
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