Suspected plague killed 42 in Congo, WHO says

Oct 19, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization reported last week that 42 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) died recently of suspected pneumonic plague.

The outbreaks, which include 626 suspected cases, occurred between Jul 31 and Oct 8 in two health zones in the Haut-Uele district, most of them in the Wamba zone of Oriental province in the northern part of the country.

The low case-fatality ratio is unusual for pneumonic plague, which suggests that the number of suspected cases may be overestimated, the WHO stated.

In rapid diagnostic tests in the field, three of eight samples were positive for pneumonic plague, the least common but most lethal form of the disease. Further laboratory analysis was underway, the WHO said.

The agency said a team from Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders), the WHO, and the provincial health ministry carried out the initial investigation. Disease surveillance was being stepped up, and authorities were implementing case management, contact tracing, and sensitization measures in the outbreak area.

In June the WHO reported that 100 people in the DRC had died of suspected pneumonic plague. Nineteen of the deaths occurred in Ituri district in the northeastern Oriental province, a plague hotbed.

The plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, circulates mainly among rodents and their fleas but occasionally spreads to humans. It is transmitted primarily by flea bites, direct contact, or inhalation of contaminated respiratory droplets.

Plague kills 30% to 60% of infected people if left untreated, but it can be effectively treated with antibiotics and other measures if diagnosed in time, according to the WHO. Pneumonic plague accounts for only 2% of plague cases. About 99% of all plague cases and deaths occur in Africa.

See also:

Oct 13 WHO statement on plague outbreak
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_10_13/en/print.html

May 27, 2005, CIDRAP News article "Plague outbreak highlighted ongoing problem in Africa"

CIDRAP plague overview