A bubonic plague outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has left dozens of people suffering from a long-running dreaded disease that led to Europe’s Black Death epidemic in the 14th century.
N. La La Disoit of the New York-based NGO, EcoHealth Alliance, told AFP that between November 15 and December 13, Northeast D.R. Several cases of plague were identified in the Biringi area of Congo’s Ituri province.
At least 520 people have fallen ill and “more than 31” of them have died, Ituri Health Minister Patrick Karamura told the outlet.
With the exception of five cases of pneumonic plague and two cases of septicemic plague, most cases involve bubonic plague, which occurs when the disease has spread to the lungs or blood.
The youngest were most affected, with the average age of patients being only 13 years. Among those infected was a three-month-old baby, according to Luddite.
The place, which is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is endemic to the province where it was first confirmed in 1926. Outbreaks appear to be exacerbated during this time, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of spike cases in the Rethi area of Ituri. In July last year.
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The latest outbreak began with a mass death in rats, which were infected by fleas carrying germs in their fur. The fleas then begin to find new hosts and migrate to humans, infecting them with their bites.
Bubic Nick plague is the most common type of disease, which occurs after Bacillus travels through the bloodstream and attacks nearby lymph nodes. Those swollen and painful lymph nodes that can sometimes break open are known as ‘buboos’. Other symptoms include fever, headache and nausea.
The so-called Black Death, which according to various estimates between the third and half of Europe’s population, died in the middle of the 14th century, while hitting hardest in North Africa and Asia, was the largest epidemic in human history and caused by bubonic. Plague.
The dreaded disease is now cured with a variety of antibiotics. However, without proper treatment, plague can cause between 30 and 90 percent of deaths in infected people.
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However, getting proper medical care in DR Congo is often difficult because its health system suffers from a lack of funding and is hampered by the activity of various terrorist groups. In addition to the plague, the Central African country also faces epidemic Ebola outbreaks, malaria, cholera, HIV and other diseases.
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