Plague, a reemerging disease in Madagascar.

Human cases of plague, which had virtually disappeared in Madagascar after the 1930s, reappeared in 1990 with more than 200 confirmed or presumptive cases reported each year since. In the port of Mahajanga, plague has been reintroduced, and epidemics occur every year. In Antananarivo, the capital, t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chanteau, S., Ratsifasoamanana, L., Rasoamanana, B., Rahalison, L., Randriambelosoa, J., Roux, J., Rabeson, D.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Centers for Disease Control 1998
Subjects:
Research Article
Rattus rattus
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2627662
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9452403
Description
Summary:Human cases of plague, which had virtually disappeared in Madagascar after the 1930s, reappeared in 1990 with more than 200 confirmed or presumptive cases reported each year since. In the port of Mahajanga, plague has been reintroduced, and epidemics occur every year. In Antananarivo, the capital, the number of new cases has increased, and many rodents are infected with Yersinia pestis. Despite surveillance for the sensitivity of Y. pestis and fleas to drugs and insecticides and control measures to prevent the spread of sporadic cases, the elimination of plague has been difficult because the host and reservoir of the bacillus, Rattus rattus, is both a domestic and a sylvatic rat.

Similar Items