Rat wanted: 'dead or alive', reward now RM2 in Terengganu

The reward for catching rats has just doubled. Bring one in, either dead or alive, and receive RM2.

This was the latest announcement by the Kuala Terengganu City Council in the state’s campaign to eradicate the vermin menace in light of heightened worry over the leptospirosis disease.

Prior to this, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall announced the reward of RM1 for each rat caught in the city under its "Rid KL of Rodents 2013" campaign.

Kuala Terengganu mayor Datuk Adzlan Mohd Dagang said today that a special counter will be opened for the public to hand in their catch and collect their bounty.

“This is to encourage the public to keep the city clean together and at the same time avoid this leptospirosis disease,” said Adzlan in a Bernama report.

Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria found in rat urine.

Symptoms include high fever, body pain and redness of the eyes. If left untreated, the disease can harm the body’s vital organs and can be fatal.

Health officials have recently warned about a spike in leptospirosis cases.

As of Aug 10 this year, a total of 2,775 leptospirosis cases have been detected so far this year, with 23 resulting in deaths.

In 2011 reported leptospirosis cases stood at 2,268. Last year, with 55 deaths and 3,665 with 48 deaths respectively.

One of the latest fatalities due to leptospirosis was a member of staff at the University of Malaysia Terengganu in northern Malaysia, who died on June 8.