Plague cases in Madagascar almost doubled in five days - UN

An outbreak of highly contagious plague has claimed 89 lives in Madagascar over the past two months with the capital Antananarivo particularly affected.

Red Cross volunteers speak to women as they are busy cooking, whilst educating villagers about the plague outbreak, 30 miles west of Antananarivo, Madagascar. October, 16, 2017
AP

Red Cross volunteers speak to women as they are busy cooking, whilst educating villagers about the plague outbreak, 30 miles west of Antananarivo, Madagascar. October, 16, 2017

The number of plague cases in Madagascar has almost doubled over the last five days and medical experts project the situation will worsen, with 1,000 cases expected every month if funds aren't rapidly provided, the United Nations said Thursday.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters that only 26 percent of the $9.5 million needed to combat the outbreak of the often deadly disease has been received.

Dujarric said UN humanitarian officials in the Indian Ocean island nation reported 1,032 cases as of Wednesday, 67 percent of which were pneumonic plague. 

He says that "is more serious than the bubonic plague and highly challenging to control."

So far, he said, 89 deaths have been counted, including 13 on Tuesday.

Dujarric said UN officials have strengthened systems to identify contacts of victims, monitor the number of patients at hospitals, transport medical samples, and address "the transmission risks of traditional burial practices."

A recurring problem made worse

Madagascar has suffered plague outbreaks almost every year since 1980 – typically between September and April – and are often sparked by rats fleeing forest fires. 

They have about 400 plague cases per year, or more than half the world's total, according to a 2016 World Health Organization report. 

Usually, they are cases of bubonic plague in the rural highlands. Bubonic plague is carried by rats and spread to humans through flea bites. 

It is fatal about half the time if untreated.

For the first time, though, this outbreak is largely concentrated in the country's two largest cities, Antananarivo and Toamasina.

Most of the cases in the current outbreak are pneumonic plague, a more virulent form that spreads through coughing, sneezing or spitting and is almost always fatal if untreated.

 In some cases, it can kill within 24 hours.

 Like the bubonic form, it can be treated with common antibiotics if caught in time.

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