Man diagnosed with rat infection

SWIMMING has been banned in the Céou river near Sarlat in Dordogne after a man was diagnosed with Weil’s disease, which is caused by rats.

The man, the manager of a campsite at Bouzic, caught the disease four weeks ago while cleaning out the creek beside his property after a flood.

Weil’s disease is a rare bacterial infection that can be caught if water infected with rat urine comes into contact with broken skin or is inhaled. This rarely happens in running water but the Céou is a stagnant creek for much of its length, an ideal place for rodents.

Now Bouzic mayor Jean-Pierre Valéry has banned swimming and paddling in the Céou at Bouzic and the mayor of nearby Daglan has done the same, with warning signs being erected at the water’s edge.

Weil’s disease causes flu-like symptoms in the first stage but can lead to meningitis, liver damage and jaundice and kidney failure.

The campsite manager is now in hospital in Cahors. His family and children are showing no signs of the disease.