Tolib awoke amid the night from acute pain. Something sharp pricked his hand and the youth screamed unwittingly. Some creature leaped aside from him and literally in an instance disappeared somewhere in the corner. His scream made his elder brother awake too. "What's the matter?"- he asked being frightened. Looking at the sore hand with the traces left by the teeth of a beast the brother understood that it had been a rat. For the last time the animals were every now and then seen in the house. But they didn't attack you, at least, though a lot of harm was bought by them. They gnawed away a floor in the hencoop, spoiled an old sofa, and nibbled even tires from a car.

Now the topic on rats seems to be no less popular among all the circles of society than flour prices. If you only mention about these rapacious and malignant animals somewhere at a bus station or among friends and acquaintances the topic will be upheld at once, developed, exaggerated; a lot of examples being delivered in addition. But let us deepen into the gist of the problem.
The first invasion of rats caused disturbance in early 90-ies in Russia when flocks of rodents literally besieged garbage dumps of Moscow suburbs moving closer to cottages and urban areas. "Moscow rodents have been getting more and more aggressive with every day literally, - the newspaper "Moskowsky Komsomolets" reported. - Only in the east of the capital for the first three months of the year rats have bitten a score of people". Today the leader among Russian cities in a numerosity of rats is Yekaterinburg. 36 persons have suffered in Kherson. Some of he died. In the opinion of the workers of the local sanitary-epidemiologic station, if not to take urgent measures an epidemic of leptospirosis may begin in the town. Now rodents have become so impudent that citizens are afraid of overstepping the entrances of houses where they live. And now we have got the freshest news (news.ru.com): rats have invaded Jalal-abad province in the south of Kyrgyzstan, they exterminate poultry, devour grapes and maize… In one rayon they have annihilated completely 14 hectares of sowed wheat.
These regions seem to be far from us. However, propagation and aggression of rats are fixed already in Sughd viloyat, hereby they threaten not only people's health, but economics either. Isfara and Konibodom districts are in the most crucial plight. "Deutsche Welle" reports 20 tons of mulberry bombyx cocoons to have been practically annihilated by rats last year only in Konibodom district.

MIND! Rats are vehicles of many dangerous diseases, rabies inclusive. If you are bitten by a rat you should immediately apply to the traumatology unit pr the nearest medical institution for being vaccinated against hydrophobia.

- These districts surpass others in bites inflicted by rodents, - tells Mumin Qurbonov, chief doctor deputy of the viloyat sanitary-epidemiologic surveillance. - But it is worth mentioning that the inspection conducted in Isfara district elicited an intensified explicatory work among population. Combat with rodents is carried into effect by the viloyat amalgamation "Professional Disinfection" working on a self-accounting basis. Since last November in accordance with the solution of the extraordinary antiepidemic commission all urban and district sanitary-emidemiologic stations and Hukumats are obliged to render assistance in a conclusion of treaties done by enterprises and organizations with this amalgamation on deratization.
Today the results of this solution have been of good effect. If last year 483 treaties were concluded this year their number is equal to 571. But in spite of the multiplying quantum of clients the amalgamation enjoys not all institutions and enterprises are able to pay for services due to economic reasons. The outstanding debts owed to the self-accounting outfit made up over 116 thousand somoni for October 1; over 80 thousand befalling budget organizations. But a lack of resources in its turn pours into a non-availability of poison and grain as "Professional Disinfection" can't afford their purchase. A vicious circle is formed. There is one problem more beset with poison, chemists don't sell it. It is imported by private persons and not always in a legal way. The effect of poison can't be checked on experimental animals as the outfit has no vivarium of its own. By the way, beforehand there had been both a laboratory with adequate staff and a viaticum, and transport, but everything was transferred in charge of another institution. But neither chief doctor Ghaybullo Domullojohnov, nor the leading expert on disinfection, highest rate doctor Narimon Nasridinnov are discouraged, they intend to be fighting with rodents. They are convinced that if all leaders of institutions, private enterprises and viloyat population have a state in absence of rodents on their territory they won't create conditions for their multiplication, thus society will be saved from many diseases rats are vehicles of.
- All of us should comprehend the danger beset with these animals, - says Narimon Nasriddinov. - I was a witness of sad and fairly eerie events, which couldn't be reported in press at that time. People ought to understand that when a single rat appears in a garbage dump or a deserted cellar a hotbed of elemental affliction lurks there. We seem to have lost valiance. Calmed down being spared the flashes of typhus or plague. But just today we should conjure up an islet of danger in our memory. Hemorrhage fever, tularemia, spotter fever (rat) typhus, even plague - this is no complete inventory of diseases brought by unbidden intrusive neighbours. We can't say that nothing is done over the viloyat in combat. With rodents. Bobojohngafurov district Hukumat meted out 500 somoni out of local budgets for deratization over jamoats. Kairakkoom urban Hukumat did just the same. Regretfully, rats multiply quicker than we fight with the. Rodents take advantage of the people's calamitous plight. While the society focuses its attention on other problems slackening concern for health, the state of kindergartens, schools, streets, these despoilers, which survive both in refrigerators and boiler-houses, contrive to comprise more and more territories having claims already for residential houses of humans.
Only in Khujand 39 persons suffered from he bites of rats and mice this year. As they reported in the traumatology station where there aggrieved apply first of all rates bite chiefly hands, fingers and toes in the night time. Rodents' bites are referred to the third degree of heaviness, it means they are very painful. More often residents living in private houses located next to rivers are subjected to bites, as medical workers noticed. Evidently, the facts should be attributed to moisture, rats like wet places. By the way, rats are skilful swimmers and divers. A river or a sai flow through the territories of the majority of Sughd viloyat populated units; the latters being distinguished with congregation of rats.
According to the data of the viloyat sanitary-epidemiologic surveillance 134 people suffered from bites during 2002. Not infrequently rats attacked little children. There is only one fact, which soothes. - There have been no cases of rabies. But one should do credit to Sughdian medical workers, they are not composed with it.
- At the same time it is impossible to do deratization in a unilateral scheme, - asserts Mumin Qurbonov. - State-owned institutions, private enterprises, population of towns and districts themselves should take care of extermination of rodents. Not only SES employees must conduct explicatory work but those ones of veterinary, communal, medicinal-prophylactic institutions either. It is necessary to take away garbage in time, to clean down rubbish heaps, streets should be maintained in a sanitary-hygienic state. Rats are able to migrate. If we work off one place, they will remove to another. The peculiarity of poisoning is in permanency, insomuch as they adapt themselves to the substance very quickly reaching immunity. In Dushanbe they conduct already the second round of deratization, I am going to get acquainted with the experience of the capital. We want also to apply to international organizations for help in fight with rats.
Against the background of these "rat" problems we were shocked by the information brought by our colleague Hulkar Yusupov from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
- There the problem extended to such scales, - he told, - that the deputies of the parliament (Jogorku Kenesha) applied to the government for measures be taken. In press, in supreme quarters and among common people they often speak about some mutant rat which appeared as the result of the activity of one Uzbek selectionist from neighbouring area who had interbred rat and musquash. There are rumours about the selectionist being punished. But his nurselings eat everything they find when hungry - animals, birds, vegetables, they climb trees and swim in water. The last fact told in the negative upon fishing-husbandry in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan: the amount of fish in ponds having reduced steeply. The scientists in neighbouring countries also tackle this problem, they speak not only on extreme fertility of rats bringing up to 800 species of progeny a year but on their ability for migration either. As for water and transport arteries of the Ferghana Valley, they are interconnected in spite of frontiers. The center of Osh province is not very far from us, it takes six hours to get there.
It is no panic yet and still it is high time the alarm was sounded. Let us agree with the specialists from our sanitary-epidemiologic service - one should act in collaboration. In Moscow they are going to solve this problem with the help of deratization systems affecting rodents' brains making beasts escape; as "Deutsche Welle" reported, residents of Zafarobod, Isfara and Ganchi districts conducted a series of undertakings on extermination of rats - it was done recently with having exercised their own efforts.