The College of Charleston is currently dealing with a rodent infestation. Rats reportedly attacked the downtown area and people, especially the students, would not get their much-loved chicken sandwiches and waffle fries for quite some time.
In the meantime, the school administration decided to temporarily close a Chick-fil-A restaurant on campus to fix the problem. To be specific, the "intrusion issues" happened at Calhoun and St. Philip streets. The staff and customers have been notified already.
According to ABC News 4, Randy Beaver, the Environmental Health and Safety Director of Charleston, made the announcement through a public letter. He noted that rodents have been a problem in the area for years now because of "high moisture level along the coast." For the record, squirrels, hamsters, porcupines, and guinea pigs are also classified as rodents.
Interestingly, there is another Chick-Fil-A store in Charleston that halted operations due to rodents six months ago. It was located on Magwood Drive in West Ashley. Beaver believes that the increasing rodent activity may be due to the major floods lately.
On the other hand, per The Post and Courier, no other buildings inside the campus have been closed. Nevertheless, officials are "closely monitoring" all places especially dining facilities. The precautionary email was sent to the students and faculty on Tuesday afternoon.
Beaver, consequently, asked everyone to help in battling the problem at hand. They can do their part by reporting any rodent sightings to environmental offices. Lastly, local residents could push these animals away by keeping their surroundings clean.
All in all, rats and mice are known to be capable of causing over 35 diseases worldwide. The most popular ones are leptospirosis, salmonellosis, and tularemia. These viruses could infect both humans and other animals. The health risks are commonly coming from rat urine, feces, saliva, and even just the rodent's hair.
