Rats strike again at Shatabdi Hospital

Mumbai: A senior citizen was allegedly bitten by a rat in civic-run Shatabdi hospital Sunday evening. Shilaben Shah (65), who was admitted after sustaining a fracture, had her left leg bitten by a rat while she fell asleep. According to hospital sources, the incident came to light Monday morning when Shah’s leg started bleeding, after which, she was given anti-rabies treatment.

A similar incident was reported on September 29, when an elderly woman, Pramila Nerurkar (68), was bitten near her left eye by a rat. Acknowledging the problem, superintendent of Shatabdi hospital,Dr Vijay Pol, said, “There is a rat menace here, and we have tried our best to evict the pests from the hospital premises.”

Dr Pol told The Asian Age, “The rat menace has created big chaos. It is true that two of our elderly patients were bitten by rats in recent days.” Asked what measures had been taken to prevent repeat of such incidents, he said, “We have installed the rat guard, cage and locked all entry points of rats. It is unfortunate that such an incident occurred in our hospital.”

Both senior citizens have been suffering from diabetes for the past several years.They were provided immediate medical attention. With tetanus injections and wounds dressed up and nursed, both patients are recuperating, said Dr Pol. He added that this wasn’t the first time such an incident had occurred in the hospital and that BMC workers were installing rat guards every day to catch these pests. Notwithstanding, the rat menace continued.