Bubonic plague strikes in southern Malawi

At least 80 cases of bubonic plague have been diagnosed since an outbreak was reported last month in the southeastern corner of Malawi near the Mozambique border town of Nsanje, government health officials told IRIN on Tuesday. Although no deaths had so far been reported, there was a shortage of drugs to treat those infected. The mid-June outbreak affecting 23 villages in the Ndamera traditional authority is the third reported in the last five years, the officials said. "The plague usually breaks out in the hot season when people start harvesting," a senior health official in Nsanje hospital said, explaining that there were a lot of rodents and fleas during the harvest period. "The plague is spread by fleas that live on rodents carrying the disease," the official said. The official said 80 cases were reported when the outbreak occurred last month. "Although we are still receiving a few cases, the situation has now stabilised," the official said. But he added that there is a "serious shortage" of drugs at the hospital to treat those infected. "No deaths have occurred from the outbreak, but the lack of drugs is hampering effective treatment," the official said. The official said the health ministry is currently conducting hygienic awareness programmes in the affected villages to sensitise villagers to healthy living conditions. "We also have teams that are fumigating homesteads to flush out the fleas and the rodents," the official added. The previous outbreaks were in October 1994 and in September 1997. "In the 1994 outbreak 112 cases were reported, while in 1997 a total of 453 people were affected," the official said, adding that in both instances no deaths had occurred.