An outbreak of the bubonic plague in Madagascar has killed 40 people, the World Health Organization said.
The bacterial disease — which is carried by rodents and can be passed on to humans in the bubonic form by flea bites — infected a total of 119 people in the east African island nation as of Nov. 16. If caught early enough, it can be treated through antibiotics.
The WHO said that there was a risk of a “rapid spread” in the Madagascan capital Antananarivo. The risk has been exacerbated by an increased resistance to a widely-used insecticide — deltamethrin — among fleas.
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