The World Health Organization (WHO) has released details on the plague outbreak in Madagascar that has caused over 40 deaths.
As of Nov. 16, 2014, a total of 119 cases of the plague had been reported only 2 percent being of the pneumonic form. The disease has been reported in 16 districts in seven regions .
There have been two recorded cases and one death in Madagascar's largest city, Antananarivo. The city has a weak healthcare system and is now at risk of a rapid spread of the plague because of the city's high population density.
On November 4, 2014, WHO was notified by the Ministry of Health of Madagascar of the plague outbreak. The first patient was identified in the Soamahatamana village in the district of Tsiroanomandidy on August 31, and died on September 3.
"WHO does not recommend any travel or trade restriction based on the current information available. In urban areas, such as Antananarivo, the surveillance of epidemic risk indicators is highly recommended for the implementation of preventive vector control activities," the organization stated.
The plague is a bacterial disease that is usually spread through flea bites. The bubonic version of the disease is characterized by side effects such as plague bubo (a swelling of the lymph node). The pneumonic plague occurs if the bacteria reach the lungs, and this is especially dangerous because it can be transmitted from person to person through infected cough droplets.
If caught early, bubonic plague can be cured with antibiotic treatments, but if the infection becomes pneumonic patients can die within a mere 24 hours.
The national task force is now handling the outbreak along with WHO, the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar, the "Commune urbaine d'Antananarivo" and the Red Cross. "Personal protective equipment, insecticides, spray materials and antibiotics" have been made available in the most highly- affected areas.
