Contenido:

SANITATION TECHNIQUES

CLEARING OF RODENTS

Port areas are infested with rats that can transmit multiple diseases, such as the plague, typhus, salmonella, trichinosis, etc.

Rodents find their way on board with ease, even when protective measures have been taken, using ropes and gangways, or through cargo and supplies. It is, therefore, necessary to take precautionary measures to stop this proliferation on a regular basis.

Passive precautionary measures against rats that should be taken are:

• Prevent the on board access to rats: check cargo, take in gangways at night, illuminate the deck, fit discs and funnels to mooring lines …
• Prevent nest building: vessel constructed with "Rat-Proofing" measures, although this may prove difficult on vessels in service without causing large-scale changes.

• Keep food protected and avoid the accumulation of residues so as to deprive the rats of food.

Finally, if the presence of rats on board has been detected, apply active precautions using traps and poisons.

Spring traps can be effective in controlling small populations of rats. They should be laid in areas where the rats have been seen and the bait used depends on the cargo transported on board. If the cargo contains meat or grain, choose apples, carrots or cucumber as bait, but if fruit and vegetables prove ineffective, bacon fat can be used instead. The bait should be changed daily (every 2-3 days for bacon fat). After a trap has caught a rat, do not clean or disinfect it as the smell will deter other rats. It is better not to touch the traps too much for the same reason.

Rat poisons kill rats and can be of one of two kinds, those that are toxic and kill in one dose and those that cause haemorrhaging various days after being ingested.

The latter type is recommended, as the one dose kind is quickly recognised and rejected by the rats.

The majority of rat poisons are also poisonous to man and should therefore be handled with gloves. Avoid eating or smoking while handling, and wash hands properly after touching. The traps should be clearly marked and kept in a safe place away from food.

If the infestation is large, fumigation with hydrocyanic acid or bromide should be employed, although this operation is very dangerous and should only be carried out by specialized personnel from the port.

The International Sanitary Regulations specify that all vessels that enter a port must present a certificate of Rat Clearance, a process that has to be carried out every six months. If there are no rats on board, and this has been checked by the authorities through the corresponding inspection, this can substitute the certificate.

The Ministerial Order of the 14th of January 1988 contains the appropriate documents (see APPENDIX 9).