WHO has stated, that it suspects that ‘Pneumonic plague’ is responsible for killing 100 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to preliminary test results that it has conducted. The authorities from WHO have said that isolation wards have been set up to treat patients. They also explained that the control measures have been hard to implement because of the lack of security in the area.
The outbreak had reportedly begun in mid-May. DR Congo's Ituri province is reported to be the worst hit area, by the plague in the world, with 19 deaths having been reported there. They also stated that there have been reports of suspected cases of bubonic plague but the total number is not yet known.Team of doctors from the ‘Doctors without Borders’, the WHO and the Congolese Health Ministry are providing support to local health authorities. Mostly fleas are responsible for causing an infection in the lungs in both strains of the plague, which slowly suffocates the victim.
Antibiotics, when provided promptly acts in helping the patients to survive. If the condition is left untreated then, the pneumonic strain that can also spread from human to human via respiratory droplets has a very high fatality rate.
