Albert Camus's 1947 novel The Plague is set in the French-Algerian city of Oran, where thousands of rats are suddenly found dead in the streets. At first, only a few of the inhabitants take notice of this troubling event—but the plague soon spreads through the city and begins to claim the lives of people, too, so that the significance of the disease can no longer be ignored.
Camus, Perfectionism, and Absurd Creation—On Joseph Grand in The Plague
May be of interest: https://publicthings.substack.com/p/interesting-times