An
outbreak of plague in Madagascar has killed 19 people and may have infected 85
others in just two months, the Indian Ocean island nation’s health minister
said Thursday.
Plague,
a highly infectious disease carried by small mammals like rats, killed millions
of people across the world in the past but has been largely wiped out.
“We
have recorded 104 suspected cases of plague across Madagascar, of which 19 have
died,” Health Minister, Mamy Lalatiana Andriamanarivo, told journalists.
“This
year, the plague season has started quite early and in brutal fashion.”
The
first death occurred on August 28 when a passenger died in a public taxi en
route to a town on the east coast.
Two
others who came into contact with the passenger also died, while two more
succumbed to the disease in centre of the island.
Madagascar
has suffered plague outbreaks every year since 1980, often fuelled by rats
fleeing forest fires.
Plague
can be cured with antibiotics but can be fatal within 24 hours if it affects
the lungs.
The
high incidence in Madagascar has been attributed to poor hygiene and
insufficient healthcare.
The
minister said a young girl who died of the disease in the capital,
Antananarivo, had apparently been involved in a ceremony retrieving the bodies
of deceased family members, re-wrapping their remains and dancing with the
corpses.
-AFP
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