An invasion of rats at the Josée Léger school in Saint-André. Rodents also at the Doctor Martin school. Parents of students are worried, especially as the department is facing a record increase in the number of cases of leptospirosis: nearly 180 since the start of the year, announces the Regional health Agency of Reunion Island.
HA / LF / OMa / PR
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Published on May 2, 2024 at 1:42 p.m.,
updated May 2, 2024 at 1:45 p.m.
Should we be concerned about the evolution of the number of cases of leptospirosis observed since the start of the year in Reunion? On March 15, the Reunion Regional Health Agency already called on Reunion Islanders to be vigilant in the face of a leptospirosis epidemic of unprecedented scale in the department with 99 cases diagnosed since the start of the year.
And the number of cases has exploded again since then, announces Xavier de Paris, director of monitoring and health security at the ARS. “We must be around 170 to 180 cases diagnosed since the start of the season. It is enormous“, he says.
A situation that has never been observed in recent years. “We are really on a huge peak of leptospirosisadds Xavier de Paris. Obviously, we take this very seriously knowing that it is a disease that kills“.
Watch the report from Réunion La 1ère:
The evolution of the number of leptospirosis cases worries the authorities who call for vigilance
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©Reunion the 1st
So obviously, in this particular context, concern is also growing within the population. This is the case for example in Saint-André where it was decided to extend the closure of the Josée Léger school, decided on April 26, following an invasion of rats.
A decision taken by the municipality after parents of students also expressed their anger in front of the gate of the establishment. And the concern does not abate, since other schools are concerned.
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©DR
The Doctor Martin school would be the latest. A parent of a student even photographed and filmed rodents present on the premises of the establishment. “We are in fear for our children. We are afraid for them because the danger is there“, reacts one of them, mentioning the risk of leptospirosis.
“I don’t understand why the mayor doesn’t decide to close the school“, adds a mother. The municipality is delaying and explaining that what is necessary will be done during the holidays which start by the end of the week.
Laurent Papaya, the deputy mayor responsible for school affairs, indicates that an agent went to the site and that the school will be one of the establishments affected by the next rodent control operations.
“The presence of rats is a real problem that should not be taken lightly.. The safety and health of children are at stake, reacts the elected official. The presence of these rodents on a site is not trivial. We must also all be vigilant around schools so as not to attract them by leaving waste there, for example.“.
