Outbreak of bubonic plague in Madagascar spreading to island's capital

November 26, 2014  20:57

An outbreak of bubonic plague in Madagascar has now claimed almost 50 victims and is spreading to the island's capital, officials warned today.

There have been 138 suspected cases of the disease - similar to the Black Death in medieval Europe - since the start of the year, with the death toll of 47 expected to rise in the coming months, The Daily Mail reports.

Plague is spread by fleas and mostly affects rats, but humans can also contract the disease if they are bitten by a disease-carrying flea.

The bubonic form prompts swelling of the lymph node, but can be treated with antibiotics.

The pneumonic version, affecting the lungs, can be spread from person to person through coughing and can kill within 24 hours.

The situation in Madagascar is all the more worrying because of a high level of resistance to insecticides targeting fleas, the United Nations health agency said.

Plague often breaks out in the vast island nation, and is usually at its worst between October and March.

The last case of plague in the capital was ten years ago, said Christophe Rogier, of the island's Institut Pasteur.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the country has recorded on average 500 cases of plague every year since 2009.

The Black Death, otherwise known as the bubonic plague, is estimated to have killed some 25 million people across Europe in the Middle Ages.

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