.png)
Plague outbreak in Madagascar revived dread of a killer
ANTANANARIVO :
Most inhabitants of Madagascar thought the plague was a footnote of medical history until the disease dramatically returned last year, slaying more than 200 people.
FEAR AND anxiety rippled across the Indian Ocean Island nation : ''People were afraid to come to hospital -they were afraid of catching the plague,'' recalled Professor Mamy Randria, head of the infectious diseases service at a hospital in the capital Antananarivo.
Randria found himself on the front line of an urban war against the disease, which shook his own medical personnel when they realized what they were up against.
''They were terrified by the reputation of the plague. It kills very fast and it is very contagious.'' he said.
''Many families of plague victims claimed of discrimination, which medical staff were tainted with suspicion by association with the sickness.
''Doctors treating the plague were forced by their wife or partner to sleep in separate beds,'' Randria said.
In the ''Black Death'' pandemic that swept through Europe in the 14th century, as much as the third of its population were wiped out by the plague.
Today, thanks to diagnostic tests, tried and trusted containment procedures simple rules of hygiene and arsenal of antibiotics , the disease is no longer a mass killer.
Even so, it remains an endemic threat in a number of African countries that are among the poorest on the planet, including Madagascar.
ANTANANARIVO :
Most inhabitants of Madagascar thought the plague was a footnote of medical history until the disease dramatically returned last year, slaying more than 200 people.
FEAR AND anxiety rippled across the Indian Ocean Island nation : ''People were afraid to come to hospital -they were afraid of catching the plague,'' recalled Professor Mamy Randria, head of the infectious diseases service at a hospital in the capital Antananarivo.
Randria found himself on the front line of an urban war against the disease, which shook his own medical personnel when they realized what they were up against.
''They were terrified by the reputation of the plague. It kills very fast and it is very contagious.'' he said.
''Many families of plague victims claimed of discrimination, which medical staff were tainted with suspicion by association with the sickness.
''Doctors treating the plague were forced by their wife or partner to sleep in separate beds,'' Randria said.
In the ''Black Death'' pandemic that swept through Europe in the 14th century, as much as the third of its population were wiped out by the plague.
Today, thanks to diagnostic tests, tried and trusted containment procedures simple rules of hygiene and arsenal of antibiotics , the disease is no longer a mass killer.
Even so, it remains an endemic threat in a number of African countries that are among the poorest on the planet, including Madagascar.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Grace A Comment!