Plague is a zoonotic disease caused by Yersinia pestis, and it is endemic in Madagascar. The plague cycle involves wild and commensal rodents and their fleas; humans are an accidental host. Madagascar is the country where plague burden is the highest. Plague re-emerged in Mahajanga, the western coast of Madagascar, in the 1990s and infected populations in the popular and insalubrious zones. Sanitation is considered a primary barrier to infection by excluding pathogens from the environment and reservoirs. Poor housing and hygiene and proximity to rodents and fleas in everyday life are major and unchanged risk factors of plague. The aim of this study was to measure the impact of sanitation on Yersinia pestis bacteria in human and small mammal reservoirs and flea vectors. This study was conducted on 282 households within 14 neighborhoods. Two sessions of sampling were conducted in 2013 and 2016. Small mammals were trapped inside and around houses using live traps. Fleas, blood and spleen were sampled to detect Y. pestis infection and antibodies and determine the level of plague circulation before and after the installation of sanitation in order to assess the impact of sanitation improvement on inhabitant health. Two major types of housing can be described, i.e., formal and informal (traditional), scattered in all the suburbs. Among the small mammals captured, 48.5% were Suncus murinus, and 70% of houses were infested. After sanitation, only 30% of houses remained infested, and most of them were located around the market. Fleas were mostly Xenopsylla cheopis. Before and after intervention, the overall prevalence of fleas was the same (index 4.5) across the 14 suburbs. However, the number of houses with fleas drastically decreased, and the flea index increased significantly in rodent-infested houses. Rodent abundance also decreased from 17.4% to 6.1% before and after intervention, respectively. A serology study highlights that plague is still circulating in Mahajanga, suggesting that small mammals maintain enzootic plague transmission in the city.
Journal Article > Short ReportFull Text
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2007 February 2; Volume 56 (Issue 4); 73-76.
Nguku PM, Sharif S, Omar A, Nzioka C, Muthoka P, et al.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2007 February 2; Volume 56 (Issue 4); 73-76.
In mid-December 2006, several unexplained fatalities associated with fever and generalized bleeding were reported to the Kenya Ministry of Health (KMOH) from Garissa District in North Eastern Province (NEP). By December 20, a total of 11 deaths had been reported. Of serum samples collected from the first 19 patients, Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus RNA or immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies against RVF virus were found in samples from 10 patients; all serum specimens were negative for yellow fever, Ebola, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and dengue viruses. The outbreak was confirmed by isolation of RVF virus from six of the specimens. Humans can be infected with RVF virus from bites of mosquitoes or other arthropod vectors that have fed on animals infected with RVF virus, or through contact with viremic animals, particularly livestock. Reports of livestock deaths and unexplained animal abortions in NEP provided further evidence of an RVF outbreak. On December 20, an investigation was launched by KMOH, the Kenya Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP), the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), the Walter Reed Project of the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit, CDC-Kenya's Global Disease Detection Center, and other partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). This report describes the findings from that initial investigation and the control measures taken in response to the RVF outbreak, which spread to multiple additional provinces and districts, resulting in 404 cases with 118 deaths as of January 25, 2007.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
Pathogens. 2024 October 22; Volume 13 (Issue 11); 918.; DOI:10.3390/pathogens13110918
Rahelinirina S, Razafiarimanga ZN, Rajerison M, Djedanem M, Handschumacher P, et al.
Pathogens. 2024 October 22; Volume 13 (Issue 11); 918.; DOI:10.3390/pathogens13110918