Madagascar: Plague Outbreak Leaves Two People Dead
An outbreak of plague in Madagascar has killed two people, marking the official start of the season when the disease is considered to be at its most lethal.
Manitra Rakotoarivony, a health ministry official based in Madagascar, said: “According to counts undertaken between 1 August and 13 September, we recorded eight suspected plague cases, six of whom recovered and two died in their villages.”
According to Rakotoarivony, the first fatality was recorded in Fiadanana, a small town north of the capital, Antananarivo. The second death was reported in Ambalavao in the Haute Matsiatra region.
Madagascar has suffered bubonic plague outbreaks almost every year since 1980, caused by rats fleeing forest fires.
The disease tends to return each hot and rainy season, lasting from September to April.
Pneumonic plague can prove fatal between 24 to 72 hours, while the bubonic form is less dangerous. More than 200 people in Madagascar were killed last year due to epidemics of bubonic and pneumonic plague.
Image: Madagascar plague file [online image] (2018) sourced on 19 September 2018 from
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