Health office denies rat fever claims in Bhatkal

Bhatkal 4 September 2018: (Bhatkallys News Bureau) Bhatkal THO, Murthy Raj Bhat, while speaking to Bhatkallys.com on Tuesday, clarified that the 'news' of Leptospirosis (rat fever) spread in Bhatkal is not confirmed as of now, and asked people to avoid believing in 'rumors' regarding the issue. Bhat said "The Taluka health administration has not received any reports yet, regarding the matter, all such 'news' that are being circulated on social media can only be termed as 'rumors' until we receive official reports". The spread of rat fever in Bhatkal Taluka had been doing the rounds social media and a few media reports, following which locals were into a state of panic, the reports had also added that a number of patients have been admitted to a private hospital in Manipal with Leptospirosis. Bhat, denied such claims. "We have no reports of people from Bhatkal being admitted with Leptospirosis in Manipal, in any such case the Taluka administration will be notified by the hospitals, we haven't received any such notifications yet" Bhat added. Bhat, however did not ruled out the possibility of such cases and said "It is just that we haven't received official notification, so we are terming it rumors, but it doesn't mean we are quashing the reports. We are doing our bit, and have already started taking precautionary measures in the Taluka". The flood-hit neighboring state of Kerala has been fighting Leptospirosis, from rotting livestock to stagnant waters, and other reasons, and has also claimed 19 lives since the deluge according to a report published in Firstpost.com. The same has been reported to reach Bhatkal through Dakshin Kannada district, if local social media reports are to be believed. The statement from Bhat, will now come as a relief to the panicked locals of Bhatkal, who were worried about their health, the outbreak and were questioning the preparedness of the Taluka and District administrations to fight the outbreak. (Bhatkallys News Bureau/ Ismail Zaorez)