At least 33 people have died in Madagascar and a further 231 are now infected with pneumonic plague – the deadliest and most rapid strain which attacks the lungs and is spread by coughing.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has just delivered nearly 1.2 million doses of antibiotics and released £1.13million in emergency funds to fight the killer infection which is known as the Black Death.
Madagascar’s WHO Representative Dr Charlotte Ndiaye said: “Plague is curable if detected in time.
“Our teams are working to ensure that everyone at risk has access to protection and treatment.
“The faster we move, the more lives we save.”
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Both bubonic and pneumonic plague can be cured using common antibiotics if delivered early.
Antibiotics can also help prevent infection among people who have been exposed to plague.
Dr Ndiyae said different types of drugs will be used for both curative and prophylactic care.
She said there was enough drugs to treat up to 5,000 patients and protect up to 100,000 people who may be exposed to the disease.
The medicines are being distributed to health facilities and mobile health clinics across the country with the support of Madagascar’s Ministry of Health and other partners.
WHO is also filling critical shortages in disinfection materials and personal protective equipment for health professionals and safe burials.
Doctors from WHO and the Ministry of Health are training local health workers on how to identify and care for patients, and how to trace people who have had close contact with symptomatic patients so that they may be given protective treatment.
A WHO official said: “The risk of the disease spreading is high at national level because it is present in several towns and this is just the start of the outbreak.”
He said pneumonic plague was “the deadliest and most rapid form of plague”.
In response to the threat, Madagascar’s government has closed public institutions, including schools and universities, and deployed teams to spray buildings to ward off fleas and rodents.
Large public gatherings, including concerts and sporting events, have also been banned.
People infected with plague usually develop flu-like symptoms after an incubation period of three to seven days, according to WHO and typical symptoms include the sudden onset of fever, chills, head and body-aches and weakness, vomiting and nausea.