Plague cases on the rise in Madagascar

WITH dozens dead from a plague outbreak in Madagascar, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is deploying its first-ever plague treatment centre to the island nation.

The World Health Organisation said 561 cases had been reported so far, with another in the Seychelles.

Fears are growing that the outbreak will spread to other countries and South African authorities have said they are prepared for any eventuality.

“The situation is quite concerning. We’ve seen a doubling of cases over the last week,” Dr Julie Hall, the Red Cross’s director of health and care, told reporters in Geneva.

Red Cross officials have said the situation is particularly worrying because pneumonic plague, spread from person to person, has occurred for the first time in non-endemic areas and crowded cities. About 70% of the cases are pneumonic.

Cases of bubonic plague, transmitted from animals to people through flea bites, occur almost annually in Madagas- car. The rise in cases is due in part to a stronger reporting system and not all cases have been confirmed, Hall said. But she expressed concern at the geographic expansion of the outbreak and said more than 1 000 volunteers were going door- to- door in Madagascar explaining that plague could be treated if antibiotics were quickly used.

“I think all the lessons learned from Ebola mean that our response needs to be extremely fast in these types of situations, to bring an outbreak under control as quickly as possible,” she said.

The Red Cross’s statement said its plague treatment centre would include 50 beds and a medical team with the capacity to isolate patients and wouldl “significantly bolster” outbreak response. – AP

PICTURE: AP Children wear face masks at a school in Antananarivo, Madagascar, against an outbreak of pneumonic plague. Bubonic plague occurs there annually.