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LequteMan
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A plague outbreak in Madagascar has killed 40 people and infected over 116 others, the World Health Organization yesterday said.
The first case, a male from Soamahatamana village in the district of Tsiroanomandidy, was identified on 31 August. The patient died on 3 September.
Plague is a bacterial disease caused by Yersinia pestis, which primarily affects wild rodents. It is spread from one rodent to another by fleas.
Humans bitten by an infected flea usually develop a bubonic form of plague, characterized by swelling of the lymph node. If the bacteria reach the lungs, the patient develops pneumonia (pneumonic plague), which is then transmissible from person to person through infected droplets spread by coughing.
If diagnosed early, bubonic plague can be successfully treated with antibiotics.
Pneumonic plague, on the other hand, is one of the most deadly infectious diseases; patients can die 24 hours after infection. The mortality rate depends on how soon treatment is started, but is always very high.
Two percent of the cases in Madagascar are the more dangerous pneumonic form of the disease, with the situation is worsened by high levels of resistance among fleas to a leading insecticide, the WHO added.
"There is now a risk of a rapid spread of the disease due to the city's high population density and the weakness of the healthcare system," WHO said.
A task force has been activated to manage the outbreak.
#Plague #Madagascar
The first case, a male from Soamahatamana village in the district of Tsiroanomandidy, was identified on 31 August. The patient died on 3 September.
Plague is a bacterial disease caused by Yersinia pestis, which primarily affects wild rodents. It is spread from one rodent to another by fleas.
Humans bitten by an infected flea usually develop a bubonic form of plague, characterized by swelling of the lymph node. If the bacteria reach the lungs, the patient develops pneumonia (pneumonic plague), which is then transmissible from person to person through infected droplets spread by coughing.
If diagnosed early, bubonic plague can be successfully treated with antibiotics.
Pneumonic plague, on the other hand, is one of the most deadly infectious diseases; patients can die 24 hours after infection. The mortality rate depends on how soon treatment is started, but is always very high.
Two percent of the cases in Madagascar are the more dangerous pneumonic form of the disease, with the situation is worsened by high levels of resistance among fleas to a leading insecticide, the WHO added.
"There is now a risk of a rapid spread of the disease due to the city's high population density and the weakness of the healthcare system," WHO said.
A task force has been activated to manage the outbreak.
#Plague #Madagascar
