What is the plague? How Madagascar plague compares to the Black Death

What is the plague?

The plague, often described as The Black Death, is an infectious bacterial disease that has a frighteningly high mortality rate if left untreated.

There are two main strains of the killer disease: the bubonic plague and the pneumonic plague.

Both diseases are carried by small rodents, such as rats, and can be transmitted by insect bites – but only the rarer pneumonic plague has the ability to travel through the air. 

Unfortunately, it is this more dangerous strain that has invaded Madagascar, meaning people can be infected by coughs and sneezes. 

Amid growing concerns that the epidemic could spread worldwide, the World Health Organisation has compiled a list of nations that the disease could reach. 

Countries in the disease’s path might include South Africa, Kenya and British holiday hotspots Mauritius and the Seychelles.

The plague is not uncommon in Madagascar, with about 500-600 people contracting the disease annually. The WHO reported 3,248 infections and 584 fatalities between 2010 and 2015. 

However, this most recent outbreak has health experts worried.

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A WHO official has described the epidemic as “something different” to previous strains and “can not be easily explained”.

“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,” they explained.

The bubonic plague is most famous for causing the Black Death in Europe during the 14th century.

Historians estimate that up to 200 million people died from the plague in Eurasia during the middle ages – a staggering 60 per cent of the total population. 

It stuck Britain again in the 17th century, killing one in five Londoners that contracted the disease. 

How does the Madagascar plague compare to the Black Death?

The plague itself has never been eradicated and outbreaks are common around the world. The USA suffered a number of scares during the first half of the 20th century.

What has changed is that the disease is infinitely more treatable.

A simple course of antibiotics is usually enough to combat the plague if administered early enough, whereas a 14th century peasant would not stand a chance. 

The WHO said: “Antibiotics and supportive therapy are effective against plague if patients are diagnosed in time. 

“Pneumonic plague can be fatal within 18 to 24 hours of disease onset if left untreated, but common antibiotics for enterobacteria (gram negative rods) can effectively cure the disease if they are delivered early.”