Ned's Second Line Look at the News: December 2013

AFRICA/MADAGASCAR - 5 million people exposed to plague - Fides News Agency
Every year between 300 and 600 cases of bubonic plague are recorded in Madagascar, usually between October and March. Health authorities must also cope with superstitions, particularly in the more remote villages. It is thought that the plague arrived in Madagascar in 1898 from infected rats found on ships coming from India. Thanks to numerous vaccination campaigns, improved hygiene, the discovery of streptomycin and the use of insecticides, the disease was under control in the 50s. Over 30 years only from 20 to 50 cases per year were recorded in Madagascar, but since 1989 the number of suspected cases has increased steadily. According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention of diseases in the United States, approximately five million people are exposed in the highlands of Madagascar. WHO considers the infection endemic in many parts of Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique, Uganda and Tanzania.