QC barangay offers residents rice in exchange of rats

Rising leptospirosis cases in the country has prompted a barangay in Quezon City to offer rice to its residents as reward for rats, according to Tina Panganiban Perez's report on GMA News TV's State of the Nation with Jessica Soho.

The rice for rats programs of Barangay Batasan Hills has been working as it helped reduce the cases of leptospirosis, Jojo Abad, chairperson of the barangay, said.

"Yun ay naging maganda para mabawasan ang cases namin," Abad said.  

Each resident will get a kilo of rice for the rats brought to the barangay.  The budget for the rice is sourced from the P200,000 budget it gets every year and from donations.

Barangay data on this year's leptospirosis cases were not immediately available, but Abad said they were definitely lower than the 58 cases in 2018.

From January 1 to August 3 this year, the Department of Health has registered a total of 981 cases with 113 deaths.

The department has advised the public against swimming or wading in water that might be contaminated with animal urine, especially rats.

Last August 18, Jose Emmanuel Parabas, a resident of Batasan Hills succumbed to leptospirosis.

Teresita Parabas, his mother, said the household has been extra cautious since his death.

"Sabi namin, para tayong praning dito, naka-gwantes, nakabota, . . . " she said.

As a precaution, the DOH has issued the following leptospirosis prevention and control gudielines:

• Avoid swimming or wading in potentially contaminated water or flood water.
• Use of proper protection like boots and gloves when work requires exposure to contaminated water.
• Drain potentially contaminated water when possible.
• Control rats in the household by using rat traps or rat poison, maintaining cleanliness in the house.

—LDF. GMA News