The appearance of "lung plague" on the border between Uganda and Congo

The appearance of "lung plague" on the border between Uganda and Congo

Geneva: Middle East Online

A type of deadly plague has spread to the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and several people have reportedly died, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.
The organization commended health workers in Uganda for their vigilance and readiness for the possible plague epidemic, which according to the organization usually leads to death unless it is detected and treated with antibiotics. at its beginnings.
The WHO said in a report that the Ugandan Ministry of Health had reported on March 5 two suspected cases of infection in the Zombo region, after the death of a 35-year-old woman and her mother. diagnosis of the same symptoms for a 23-year-old family member.
Subsequent investigations revealed that the deceased lived in the village of Atongoli, Ituri District, Congo, and that her four-year-old son had died a few days earlier. When her relatives found her sick on the day of her son's burial, they took her to Uganda for treatment.
His sister's suspicions about the spread of the plague were triggered by a preliminary analysis of the disease.
The authorities estimated that 55 people, including 11 health workers and other participants in the funeral of women, presented a serious risk of transmission and follow-up.
Three other people reportedly died of similar symptoms in Congo and local authorities are investigating, said the WHO.
FAO reports that pneumonia is endemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar and Peru.
The Congolese authorities are already facing a significant spread of the Ebola virus. Yarsine typhoid, which is commonly found in small mammals and fleas, causes pneumonia.
People get sick from flea bites, dangerous mixtures of body fluids, polluted substances or inhalation of an aerosol from someone with lung plague.

Uganda

Congo

Global Health