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Deadly ‘rat fever’ in flood-ravaged Indian state
KOCHI, India, Sept 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – “Rat fever” and other diseases have
killed 14 people in the southern Indian state of Kerala after the worst
floods in almost a century, authorities said Tuesday.
The separate death toll from the monsoon floods that forced more than a
million people from their homes in Kerala last month has meanwhile risen to
486, the government said.
“We had anticipated leptospirosis (rat fever) due to contaminated water
and are taking all measures to distribute preventive drugs in camps,” Kerala
health director Sarita R L told AFP.
Leptospirosis, transmitted in water containing urine from rodents and
other animals, has killed six people and infected more than 100 while other
diseases have left eight dead.
Cases of malaria, dengue fever and chicken pox have also been reported.
More than 5,100 people have acute diarrhoea, authorities said.
The floodwaters have now receded and fewer than 10,000 people remain in
temporary camps, down from 1.4 million at the height of the crisis.
The monsoon, which lasts from June to September, causes widespread death
and destruction across South Asia each year.
The death toll in India this year currently stands at 1,400 across 10
states, and heavy rainfall is forecast in several areas in the coming days.
In the north-eastern state of Nagaland, 11 people have died and 50,000
others are stranded across some 530 villages, with roads including the
national highway into the state cut.
Nagaland’s chief minister Neiphiu Rio took to Twitter to appeal for
donations, posting photos of widespread damage and saying that 10 relief
camps have been opened.
In the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand around 270 people
have perished.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1340 hrs