Surveillance of Rodent and Fleas and Prevention of Plague in International Sea Ports in India in the context of International Health Regulations-2005

Rodents are among the most important competitors globally with humans for food and other resources. In the past century alone, more than ten million people died due to rodent borne diseases. Plague is a rodent borne zoonotic disease therefore, absence of human plague cases in a particular ecological zone would not justify the conclusion that plague has disappeared from the area. Plague continues to pose a threat to human health in certain regions of the world where natural foci still exist. An assessment of the effectiveness of the International Health Regulations (1969) in control of cholera, plague, and yellow fever reveals that WHO member states have not observed the regulations strictly. In consideration of the growth in international travel and trade, and the emergence or re-emergence of international disease threats and other public health risks, the International Health Regulations (2005) were adopted by the Fifty eighth World Health Assembly on 23rd May 2005. It came into force on 15th June 2007. The purpose and scope of IHR (2005) are to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public Health Response to the international spread of the disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks, and which avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade. The Ship Sanitation Control Exemption Certificate/ Ship Sanitation Control Certificate replaces the narrower in scope Deratting/ Deratting Exemption Certificate as from 15th June 2007. It has greatly expanded the areas for public health inspections on international ships. Contaminated international vessels may transport rodent borne diseases (31-Viral, Bacterial, protozoan, nematode and 11 documented Hunta viruses) across geographical boundaries. Rodents can gain access to ships directly by mooring ropes, hulls and gang ways. Rodents may be concealed in cargo, ship’s stores and other materials taken on to the ship. All the international sea ports in India including residential areas of the ports were jointly surveyed by NCDC, Plague Surveillance Unit, Bangalore and Port Health Organizations in collaboration with Rodent control unit of Port Trusts every year from 2008 to 2011. During the survey, heavy infestation of different species of rodents were detected in and around of sea port areas. Rattus rattus and Bandicoota bengalensis, which were found to be the predominant rodent sp. in all the port areas along with Bandicoota indica, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus and Meriones hurrianae. In some ports, absolute and specific flea indices of Xenopsylla cheopis, the efficient vector of human plague transmission were found above critical level (?1.0). Mooring ropes in 73.6 percent of the ships inspected during the survey were without the rodent guards or rodent guards without proper locking system. All the Gang ways in the ships, which were supposed to be lifted during night time to prevent the entry of the rodents were kept touching the ground. Suggestions were made for appropriate rodent control measures to keep the sea port areas rodent free.