THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH’S rat bait stations are attracting more than rodents.
Barbadians, says senior environmental health officer in the Vector Control Unit, Maurice Gaskin, have been illegally appropriating the boxes from sites around the island. But the “blatant theft”, warns Gaskin, exposes people to much more than free bait.
“People who carry them away expose themselves to contracting leptospirosis, because if you lift it up and you have the leptospiro organism on the station and the person that lifts it up has a cut or abrasion, then the organism can get in the cut, if it is exposed.”
He was speaking during the Solid Waste Management Programme’s 4Rs Fair (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover) at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre yesterday. But there is also more bad news for those who steal the boxes.
“Recently, we have been testing for hantavirus and the thing about it is that you know you can wear clothing and gloves to avoid leptospirosis, but with the hantavirus you are actually inhaling the particles of rat urine and rat stool.”
That virus affects the kidneys and liver. In addition, Gaskin is warning that any homeowner caught with the box, which carries the name of the Ministry of Health, will be prosecuted for theft.
The bait stations are placed in areas like the terminals in Bridgetown, as well as in Oistins and Rockley in Christ Church.
Inspectors, he said, had seen the number of bait stations drop from more than 460 to just over 400. Gaskin also revealed that people had been using them as domino tables or as supports for vehicles when changing tyres.
