The Black Death, the pandemic of the bubonic plague that wiped out a third of the world's population in the Middle Ages, is often associated with history's dark past but apparently, the plague has all but fully disappeared. The rodent-borne disease has surfaced in the news again lately following confirmation that it is responsible for a series of deaths in Madagascar.
Local authorities have confirmed that a plague spread by rats has killed 39 people in Madagascar. "There is an epidemic in Madagascar which is currently affecting five districts (out of 112). Eighty-six people have been inflicted by the plague, of which 39 have died," the health ministry said in a statement.
The confirmation that the deaths near the northwestern town of Mandritsara is caused by bubonic plague came in the wake of a warning by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in October that the island nation was at risk of a plague epidemic. Tests taken from bodies in the village last week confirmed that the villagers died of bubonic plague, the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar revealed on Tuesday.
Health experts said the risk of the disease has increased because of the increasing prevalence of poverty and unsanitary conditions on the island. The outbreak is also blamed on rat infestation in residential areas caused by uncontrolled deforestation.
Prisoners on the island are usually affected by the plague because of prevalence of rats in Madagascar's prisons. Bubonic plague is transmitted by bites from infected rat fleas whose main host is the black rat, but is not spread from person to person. Victims often develop swollen, tender lymph glands (called buboes), flu-like symptoms and gangrene. The disease is treatable with antibiotics if caught early, but can be lethal.
According to a government doctor, 90 percent of the cases were pneumonic plague, a strain much more vicious than the common bubonic plague. It can kill within three days and give little time for antibiotics to work. The World Health Organization describes it as one of the most deadly infectious diseases with very high mortality rate.
