SARS: Sewers Accommodate Roach Suspects

First it was rats.

Then it was cats. Now the lowly cockroach is the newest suspect in the spread of SARS.

View large image The American Cockroach is fond of sewers and drain pipes. It invades from outside, travelling flat-to-flat in search of food. It's drawn to places where food and water are accessible. The dirtier the living space, the greater chance one will have roaches. Kitchens are a prime target.

American cockroaches grow between one-and-a-half to two inches long. These were the type that plagued us when we first moved to Causeway Bay. They were, along with the toilet troubles, one of the reasons we left.

We escaped the city in the nick of time. Our new place is clean; I haven't seen a roach anywhere in the complex, which makes me glad, because cockroaches make me feel ... oogey.

Should roaches turn out to be carriers of the virus (unlikely), I don't see how they can be controlled. What are they going to do, fumigate the whole territory?

People can seal their homes to protect against invasion and pour bleach solution into drain pipes, which should send the wee beasties scuttling off.

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