WHO declares deadly plague on border between Uganda and Congo

GENEVA (Reuters) – A deadly form of plague broke out on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and several people reportedly died of the disease, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

The agency praised Ugandan health workers for their vigilance and their swift intervention in detecting a suspected epidemic of pneumonic plague, which according to WHO is usually fatal unless it is screened early and treated with antibiotics.

The Ugandan Ministry of Health reported two probable cases of the disease in the Zombo district on March 5, after the death of a 35-year-old woman and similar symptoms reported by her 23-year-old cousin, announced In a report.

An investigation revealed that a deceased woman was living in the village of Atungulei, in Ituri province in Congo, and that her 4 year old child had died several days earlier. Finding her sick at the funeral of her child, her family took her to Uganda for treatment.

The symptoms of the cousin give rise to suspicions of plague and a preliminary rapid diagnostic test is positive for the disease. Results for additional samples sent to the plague laboratory in Uganda at Arua were pending. The patient was improving steadily, according to the WHO report.

Some 55 people, including 11 health workers and those who took part in the funeral of the dead woman, have been identified as high-risk contacts and are currently undergoing follow-up.

Three others reportedly died of similar symptoms in Congo, WHO said, and Congolese authorities were investigating.

Plague is endemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar and Peru, according to the WHO.

Congolese health authorities are already fighting a major epidemic of Ebola further south in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.

Pneumonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. Humans can be infected by flea bites, unprotected contact with bodily fluids or contaminated materials and by inhalation of droplets or small particles from a patient with pneumonic plague.