Plague : Madagascar announces emergency measures

mihtiander/epictura

Published the 01.10.2017 at 12: 15 pm

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pesteMadagascarépidémie

The plague is rampant in Madagascar. According to a new balance sheet of the minister of Health, at least 24 people died in a month. To attempt to stop this deadly epidemic, the government of Madagascar announced Saturday evening emergency measures, during a televised speech, the prime minister.

Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana announced the suspension in the capital Antananarivo ” all meetings or demonstrations “. In the city, six deaths due to plague have been recorded in recent days. “It is not a definitive suspension,” he said, but an interim measure until ” the evolution of the fight against this disease “.

300 000 dollars unlocked

“Whether in the airports or at bus stations, measures will be taken to the passengers to avoid panic and control the disease “, added the head of the government after an emergency meeting between the government, the world health Organization (WHO) and donors. For its part, the WHO said in a press release on Sunday that it has released 300,000 dollars of emergency funds, as well as medical equipment.

Since 1980, the plague reappears almost every year in Madagascar, usually between October and march. This year, a first death was recorded on the 28th of August. The victim, who had contracted the disease in Ankazobe (centre), died in a taxi-brousse in the city of Moramanga (is) trying to reach Tamatave, a town on the east coast.

Rainy season

The epidemic has since spread on the malagasy territory, in particular in the capital Antananarivo. “Just for the day yesterday (Friday), we recorded four deaths from the pneumonic plague “, indicated to the AFP the health authorities. The previous balance sheet published on Thursday, was reporting 19 deaths and 104 suspected cases.

The season pesteuse coincides with the rainy season, the tradition malagasy the “turning of the dead” and the resurgence of the bush fires, according to the ministry of Health.

The bacterium of the plague, which develops in rats, is transmitted by fleas. In man, the form of bubonic plague can be cured, if taken in time, with antibiotics, but the form-pneumonic – transmitted by the coughs – can be fatal in as little as 24 to 72 hours.