The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has asked local authorities to take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of bubonic plague, also known as “Black Death” because of its effects on the body, into Vietnam. Vietnam is at high risk though no plague outbreaks have been reported for the past 12 years, said Dr. Tran Dac Phu, head of the ministry’s Preventive Medicine Department. He called on local authorities to intensify inspection of wild animals and rodents for fleas, warning that the number of cases often rises in October as hot humid weather attracts fleas, which transmits the disease from rates and animals to humans. The last two patients were reported in Vietnam in August 2002 and no major outbreaks of the disease have been recorded since then, Dr. Phu added. The ministry also urged municipal and provincial health departments to coordinate with agencies to strictly monitor animals and immigrants coming into Vietnam, particularly those from plague-hit areas. According to the WHO report, Vietnam is among seven countries worldwide that have faced outbreaks of the deadly infection just about annually for the past 44 years. The others are Madagascar, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Peru and the U.S. The Madagascar Health Ministry has declared a plague epidemic in the African country, which has resulted in 40 deaths and 119 infections over the past three months. Earlier, the U.S. had confirmed four infection cases of plague in the State of Colorado, while a fatal patient has also been reported in China. The disease can kill patients within 24 hours, but can be cured with antibiotics – if caught early enough. (VnExpress Nov 24)
