Published Date: 2019-03-12 13:09:14
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Plague - Uganda: Congo DR border, pneumonic, fatal
Archive Number: 20190312.6363171
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Plague - Uganda: Congo DR border, pneumonic, fatal
Archive Number: 20190312.6363171
PLAGUE - UGANDA: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO BORDER, PNEUMONIC, FATAL
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A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Tue 12 Mar 2019
Source: AFP [edited]
https://www.9news.com.au/2019/03/12/10/54/deadly-plague-on-uganda-congo-border-who
A deadly form of plague has broken out on Uganda's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, and several people are thought to have died of the disease, WHO has said. The agency praised Ugandan health workers for vigilance and prompt action in spotting a suspected outbreak of pneumonic plague, which WHO says is usually fatal unless detected early and treated with antimicrobials.
Uganda's Health Ministry reported 2 probable cases of the illness in Zombo district on 5 Mar 2019 after a 35 year old woman died and her 23 year old cousin reported similar symptoms, WHO said in a report on [Mon 11 Mar 2019]. Further investigation revealed the dead woman had lived in Atungulei village in Congo's Ituri province, and her 4 year old child had died days beforehand. Finding her sick at her child's burial, her relatives took her to Uganda for treatment.
The cousin's symptoms raised suspicions of plague, and a preliminary rapid diagnostic test was positive for the disease. Results on additional specimens sent to Uganda's Plague Laboratory in Arua were pending. The patient was steadily improving, the WHO report said.
Some 55 people, including 11 health workers and people who took part in the dead woman's funeral, had been identified as high-risk contacts and were being followed up. An additional 3 other people reportedly died of similar symptoms in Congo, WHO said, and Congolese authorities were investigating.
Pneumonic plague is caused by the _Yersinia pestis_ bacterium, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. Humans can be infected through flea bites, unprotected contact with bodily fluids or contaminated materials, and the inhalation of droplets or small particles from a patient with pneumonic plague.
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communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Most cases are due to bubonic plague following the bite of an infected rodent flea causing a swollen and very tender lymph gland. The swollen gland is called a "bubo". Bubonic plague should be suspected when a person develops a swollen gland, fever, chills, headache, and extreme exhaustion, and has a history of possible exposure to infected rodents, rabbits, or fleas. A person usually becomes ill with bubonic plague 2 to 6 days after being bitten.
When bubonic plague is left untreated, plague bacteria invade the bloodstream. As the plague bacteria multiply in the bloodstream, they spread rapidly throughout the body and cause a severe and often fatal condition. Infection of the lungs with the plague bacterium causes the pneumonic form of plague, a severe respiratory illness. The infected person may experience high fever, chills, cough, and breathing difficulty and may expel bloody sputum. If plague patients are not given specific antibiotic therapy, the disease can progress rapidly to death. At this stage, as appears to have happened in this case, person-to-person spread can occur, causing other cases of "primary" plague pneumonia. - Mod.LL
**********************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Tue 12 Mar 2019
Source: AFP [edited]
https://www.9news.com.au/2019/03/12/10/54/deadly-plague-on-uganda-congo-border-who
A deadly form of plague has broken out on Uganda's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, and several people are thought to have died of the disease, WHO has said. The agency praised Ugandan health workers for vigilance and prompt action in spotting a suspected outbreak of pneumonic plague, which WHO says is usually fatal unless detected early and treated with antimicrobials.
Uganda's Health Ministry reported 2 probable cases of the illness in Zombo district on 5 Mar 2019 after a 35 year old woman died and her 23 year old cousin reported similar symptoms, WHO said in a report on [Mon 11 Mar 2019]. Further investigation revealed the dead woman had lived in Atungulei village in Congo's Ituri province, and her 4 year old child had died days beforehand. Finding her sick at her child's burial, her relatives took her to Uganda for treatment.
The cousin's symptoms raised suspicions of plague, and a preliminary rapid diagnostic test was positive for the disease. Results on additional specimens sent to Uganda's Plague Laboratory in Arua were pending. The patient was steadily improving, the WHO report said.
Some 55 people, including 11 health workers and people who took part in the dead woman's funeral, had been identified as high-risk contacts and were being followed up. An additional 3 other people reportedly died of similar symptoms in Congo, WHO said, and Congolese authorities were investigating.
Pneumonic plague is caused by the _Yersinia pestis_ bacterium, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. Humans can be infected through flea bites, unprotected contact with bodily fluids or contaminated materials, and the inhalation of droplets or small particles from a patient with pneumonic plague.
--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Most cases are due to bubonic plague following the bite of an infected rodent flea causing a swollen and very tender lymph gland. The swollen gland is called a "bubo". Bubonic plague should be suspected when a person develops a swollen gland, fever, chills, headache, and extreme exhaustion, and has a history of possible exposure to infected rodents, rabbits, or fleas. A person usually becomes ill with bubonic plague 2 to 6 days after being bitten.
When bubonic plague is left untreated, plague bacteria invade the bloodstream. As the plague bacteria multiply in the bloodstream, they spread rapidly throughout the body and cause a severe and often fatal condition. Infection of the lungs with the plague bacterium causes the pneumonic form of plague, a severe respiratory illness. The infected person may experience high fever, chills, cough, and breathing difficulty and may expel bloody sputum. If plague patients are not given specific antibiotic therapy, the disease can progress rapidly to death. At this stage, as appears to have happened in this case, person-to-person spread can occur, causing other cases of "primary" plague pneumonia. - Mod.LL
