Hyderabad: Pediatricians say that incidents of snake bite and dog bites are known to occur in toddlers and infants but the case of a rat bite has not been encountered previously.
Dr Ravinder Reddy, senior pediatrician said, “A rat bite can cause wounds which are visible to the nursing staff and it requires to be attended to. Whether or not it can cause death is debatable.”
The rat menace in government hospitals is rampant because families attending on patients refuse to understand the call from the hospital administration not to litter the premises with waste food packets. Hospitals on the other hand fail to keep the premises clean.
Dr S. Krishna, senior pediatrician, said, “The patients discard food packets in the corridors which remain there all night. This attracts dogs and rats. If the area is kept clean the menace will be reduced.”
Private hospitals which suffered from the menace due to a garbage bin close to the hospital said that they have installed devices to catch rats.
A senior pediatrician said, “We have kept the rat sticks everywhere in our hospital. We also got the garbage dump removed. ”
