An outbreak of bubonic plague in the Democratic Republic of Congo caused several dozen people to succumb to the much feared disease that caused the Black Death pandemic in Europe in the 14th century.
Several cases of plague have been identified in the Biringi area, in the province of Ituri, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, between November 15 and December 13, Anne Laudisoit of the New York-based NGO Ecohealth Alliance told AFP .
At least 520 people became ill and “more than 31” of them died, Ituri Health Minister Patrick Karamura told the channel.
The vast majority of cases involved bubonic plague, with the exception of five cases of pneumonic plague and two cases of septicemic plague, which occur when the disease spreads to the lungs or blood, respectively.
Younger people were the most affected, with the average age of patients being just 13 years old. Among those infected was a three-month-old baby, according to Laudisoit.
The plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is endemic in the province where it was first confirmed in 1926. Outbreaks occur regularly, with the World Health Organization (WHO) also issuing an alert on cases of peaks in the Rethy region of Ituri in July last year.
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The latest outbreak began with mass deaths among rats, which had been infected by germ-fleas on their skin. These fleas then started looking for new hosts and turned into humans, infecting them with their bites.
Bubonic plague is the most common form of the disease, which occurs after the bacillus travels through the blood and attacks the nearest lymph node. The swollen and painful lymph nodes that can sometimes rupture are known as “buboes”. Other symptoms include fever, headaches and vomiting.
The so-called Black Death, which, according to various estimates, killed between a third and half of Europe’s population in the middle of the 14th century, while it hit North Africa and Asia heavily, was the largest pandemic in human history. and it was caused by bubonic plague.
The terrible disease can now be cured with various types of antibiotics. However, without proper treatment, plague can cause the death of 30 to 90% of those infected.
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However, obtaining adequate medical care in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is often difficult, as its health system suffers from a lack of funding and is hampered by the activity of several militant groups. In addition to the plague, the Central African country also faces episodic outbreaks of Ebola, malaria, cholera, HIV and other diseases.
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