Plague : the closed schools in the Seychelles as a precaution

Schoolgirls in the town of Victoria on Mahé island, Seychelles – fiu/epictura

Published the 14.10.2017 at 15h33

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pesteseychellesMadagascar

An epidemic of plague played havoc in the Indian Ocean since August 28. Last territory affected by the disease : the Seychelles, with two potential cases, including a Seychellois returning from Madagascar. They have been placed on antibiotics and in isolation : “For the moment, it has not yet been confirmed that the two people who are sick are due to the pneumonic plague, samples should be sent this weekend at the Pasteur Institute (Paris),” said dr. Jude Gedeon, Commissioner of public Health. The results should be known next week. In prevention, the Seychelles have placed 320 people entered in contact with patients under supervision. In total, 12 people showing possible symptoms of the plague were admitted to the hospital and placed on antibiotics, said the ministry.

By order of the government, primary and secondary schools of the island have also been closed from Friday, 13 October Tuesday 17 October 2017 included. “We have taken this decision as a precautionary measure to reassure the parents,” said Merida Delcy, advisor to the ministry of national Education of the archipelago. “We hope that on their return (…), the children will be in good health,” she added, after a panic has taken hold of the parents, while some students have had the fever.

48 dead in Madagascar

Madagascar seems to be the epicenter of this epidemic. The big island lists now 450 patients, of whom 48 have not survived. On the only day of the 9 and 10 October, the authorities reported over 60 cases of pneumonic plague.

The various precautionary measures have done nothing, Yersinia pestis continues to circulate actively in the island. By itself, the capital city of Antananarivo reported 239 cases, including 21 deaths.

For the moment, international authorities are reassuring with regard to tourists : “The risk of infection by Yersinia pestis is generally low for international travelers to Madagascar,” said the world Health Organization who has released more than a million dollars at the beginning of the month of October and sent a million doses of antibiotics to Madagascar.

But it indicates that some situations may promote infection, such as camping or hunting, as well as contact with dead animals. Repellents provide some protection from the bites of fleas, the agency says.