Madagascar Plague
Post date: Nov 17, 2017 6:13:57 PM
Madagascar Plague
by David Zhang and Elvin Li
The new outbreak of plague that killed 2/3 of Europe back in the 14th century has now resurfaced in Madagascar. This new case of plague is declining in Madagascar but it is still killing people. A plague is a disease, necrosis, comas, buboes, that infects the cells and causes fever, which if left untreated, will result in death within 24 hours of contact with the illness. This is usually caused by a flea that has the infected bacteria in it. It is obviously a very serious disease in a developing country, with devastating consequences, especially in the capital, Antananarivo.
"I think it's strange how there's an outbreak of a plague in a developing country with vaccines and everything," commented a student at Marina.
This outbreak has caused 9 countries in Africa to be on alert and on watch for the plague. The countries on watch are Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Réunion Island (French Overseas Territory). The capital is the most infected area/district of Madagascar currently. As of November 14, there have been 2,119 suspected, probable, and confirmed cases of the plague, with 170+ deaths. Over 1,190,000 vaccines and antibiotics have been sent to Madagascar since October, when the outbreak started. This helped limit the spread of the plague in Madagascar.
Flea carrying yersinia pestis or the plague.
Pneumonic plague is the most common type of plague that can be differentiated from the bubonic plague that spread through Europe. Its symptoms are mostly confined within the respiratory system, specifically the lungs. Most cases of the outbreak in Madagascar are the pneumonic plague, with 76% of the people that are infected with Yersinia pestis with pulmonary symptoms.
Another outbreak of disease in a developing country is happening. Many people remember the Ebola outbreak of 2014 in western Africa. It clearly isn’t relevant anymore in the United States, but when humans are dying in another part of the world, we have to care.