Mautak in Mizoram

I was reading in Vanity Fair last month about this plague that happens every 48 years in Mizoram (a state in India). It got my attention both because I love India but also because I worked with some physicians from this state.

Every 48 years a certain species of bamboo blooms which causes the rat population to flourish to the extent that these rats eat all the crops. Last time this happened thousands died of starvation and a 20 year war was sparked due to the government's failure to respond. The bamboos are being to bloom now. Who knew this happened? What do they do with all the rats once they die? Hopefully the government is getting people ready with rat traps and incentives for killing the rats.