The rats are responsible for the spread of a potentially-deadly disease By Latin America corrrespondent Peter Greste Nicaragua has declared a national state of alert to deal with a rat plague that is threatening an estimated 300,000 people. Since April, hundreds of thousands of hungry rats have swept through north east Nicaragua, devouring the region's staple crops of corn, rice and beans. Emergency supplies needed One aid official from the agency Care International said about 300,000 people living in at least a dozen towns had been affected. The rodents have devastated local economies and there are calls for emergency food supplies. But the real problem is disease.
Rats spread leptospirosis by urinating in domestic water supplies.
Hurricane Mitch was a serious blow to Nicaragua That has caused massive problems for local medical services. They are still struggling to get back on their feet after Hurricane Mitch destroyed much of the region almost a year ago and the last thing they need now is another medical emergency. The federal government is working with aid agencies to distribute medicines and rat poison. At the same time authorities are trying to find the plague's cause. Sergio Narvaez from the ministry of agriculture said the El Nino weather phenomenon caused fires that killed off a lot of the rats' natural predators.