Killer rats in the Western Cape, some said to be the size of full-grown cats, have been preying on Manenberg's poorest frail and sick people, gnawing at the limbs of bedridden victims living next to a rodent-infested canal.
At the weekend, Agmat Fischer, 41, confined to bed with lung cancer, lay helpless in his corrugated-iron room in the back garden of his family's Sugarloaf Street home, too weak to shout for help, while hungry rats nibbled at his toes.
The dazed and barely conscious Fischer, discovered bleeding on his bed by a relative on Saturday morning, was admitted to GF Jooste Hospital in Manenberg, but died on Sunday.
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The hospital's assistant director of nursing, Felicity September, confirmed that parts of Fischer's toes and feet had been eaten away by rats, but the exact cause of death had yet to be established.
| They'll eat anything that comes their way |
The rat attack on Fischer followed the death of Billy Franke, a paraplegic, who lived in the same street and who was attacked about two years ago by two rats which gnawed their way into his room and ate a substantial part of his lower legs and feet.
Franke died in hospital a day later.
Fischer's sister-in-law, Sophia Pretorius, and Franke's neighbours said the men's wounds were "ghastly", and reaffirmed the danger of rats "so groot soos vet huiskatte" (as big as fat house cats) to residents living next to the Elsieskraal canal.
Pretorius said two rats had recently cornered a small dog chained to a pole, killed it and gnawed part of its face away.
Another resident living beside the canal said that about four years ago, a little girl, Shamiela Calitz, three, had been attacked by rats.
| Cities have a problem with rodents because people are 'generally filthy' |
Shamiela tried to run away but tripped and fell, and the rats started nibbling away at her hands as they covered her face. Shamiela and her family have since moved.
Ricardo Kannemeyer said "huge rats" ran around like stray dogs in their gardens and even in their homes at night.
He said it was "nothing" for them to eat their way through a wooden wall or door to get to food or sleeping people.
The University of Cape Town's Dr Justin O'Riain, founder member of the Small Mammal Research Unit at the university, said immediate precautions had to be taken when humans were attacked by rodents, and people should have swift medical attention. Rodents are random feeders and often carried a variety of germs.
O'Riain said the rats in question were probably the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), which could reach a body length of up to 30cm - excluding the tail - and could weigh in at 1kg.
He said brown rats were cunning survivors and "ultimate opportunists".
"It's not that they have developed a liking for human flesh, in fact they would rather feed on other meat and domestic refuse, but human flesh from a live prey would definitely be included in their diet if it came their way," O'Riain said.
"They are top-notch survivors, who can even gnaw through bricks and hard wood if it is a matter of life or death.
"They'll eat anything that comes their way. On Marion Island, rats have caused havoc in flightless bird populations. Brown rats are predominantly nocturnal and much fiercer and stronger than the ordinary house rat. They will eat pretty much anything.
"They breed throughout the year, have six to 12 pups and females are sexually active at just three months."
City director of health Dr Ivan Toms said most cities had a problem with rodents, because people were "generally filthy".
"We have rat catchers and send them out to attend to complaints, but we need a complete community-based drive to eradicate the problem.
"If people clean up their act, live cleanly and avoid leaving food lying around, then we're half-way there."
Toms added: "We've been processing a constant stream of people complaining about rats, but our own survey highlighted informal settlements."
He said a survey targeting informal settlements in and around Khayelitsha recently had shown that 72 percent of residents were troubled by rats.
This survey had prompted the conception of a Peninsula-wide campaign to fight the rodent pest, a drive which would rely on "community participation".
"Informal settlements, where the normal methods of poison and traps cannot be as effectively applied as in developed suburbs, are particularly vulnerable," Toms said.
His department hoped to get its campaign up and running soon, but it was now only in the early planning stages.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Argus on January 14, 2003
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