Madagascar accounts for 75% of global plague cases
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Midi Madagasikara
Madagascar accounts for about 75% of the world's recorded plague cases, according to the Malagasy Public Health Ministry. The plague season, which usually runs from September to April, began with five suspected cases and three deaths in Andranolalina, in Midongy Atsimo district, according to health authorities.
Madagascar accounts for about 75% of the plague cases recorded worldwide, the Malagasy Public Health Ministry recalled in a statement issued after a delegation travelled to Russia. The plague season, generally observed from September to April, mainly affects the central highlands and surrounding areas.
To contain transmission, the Directorate for Health Monitoring, Epidemiological Surveillance and Response conducted a six-day investigation in the fokontany of Ambalabe and Besavoa, in Midongy Atsimo district. Teams searched for contacts and distributed rat traps and flea insecticides, while the assessment and sampling of rodents continued in Vangaindrano, according to the Public Health Ministry.
Between 2024 and 2026, Russia supplied Madagascar with four mobile biological laboratories through the Microbe Institute. One of them was deployed in the south-east, and 88 Malagasy specialists were trained in epidemiology. This intensification of the response follows the three suspected deaths reported in Midongy on 13 October and the confirmation of four plague cases on 14 October.
