Hanover Health Dept concerned about rodent problem

The Hanover Health Department has joined in the call to residents to refrain from playing or swimming in bodies of stagnant water, while highlighting the fact that several types of infectious diseases can be picked up through the practice.
According to Public Health Inspector in the Hanover Health Department, Lloyd Stewart, the concerns have been heightened by the increased sightings of rodents in the parish, especially in the Lucea commercial district.
He was tabling a report from the Hanover Health Department at the monthly meeting of the Hanover Parish Council, in Lucea on Thursday (November 11).
Mr. Stewart pointed out that the vector control unit in his department has been concentrating on the eastern section of the parish over the last month, because of the flooding there. Since the passage of Tropical Storm Nicole, eastern Hanover districts of Chigwell, Pierces Village and Forrest have been partially covered by water.
He explained that both Larvicidal and Adulticidal activities are being carried out by the Hanover Health Department, on an ongoing basis in eastern Hanover, to cover the flooded districts and adjoining areas.
In reference to what he described as a “rodent problem”, which has resurfaced in the Lucea commercial district, he appealed to the Hanover Parish Council for assistance to implement a baiting programme in that area.
He said the Health Department intends to tackle the problem with some amount of urgency, with a view to avoiding an outbreak of diseases such as leptospirosis, which is spread by rodents.
“With puddles and pools of stagnant water around, if the leptospiral germ is in there, and people wade in or swim in these waters with broken skin, they are at risk of contracting this disease,” he stated.
Secretary/Manager of the Hanover Parish Council, Patricia Sinclair-Stair, gave the assurance at the meeting that the Council would be willing to assist the Health Department financially, to implement a rodent eradication programme.