Madagascar plague: Another foreigner affected, Violence against health workers

Toamasina, also called Tamatave, is a port city on the east coast of Madagascar. During the current plague outbreak, a total of 1,297 cases (suspected, probable and confirmed) including 102 deaths (case fatality rate 7.9%) have been reported nationwide and the port city of 1,412,021 has been hit unusually hard.

Local media source, L’Express de Madagascar reports (computer translated) that a Frenchman in his forties has died in the emergency department of Toamasina Be Hospital on Saturday from complications of pneumonic plague.

“His condition was already serious when he was admitted to this service. He was no longer responding to treatment,” says Dr. Raymond Rakotoarimanana, Atsinanana Regional Director of Public Health, on the phone yesterday. This foreigner, who had been living in Toamasina for years, lost his life just hours after being admitted to hospital.

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He is not the first foreigner to fall victim of plague in this outbreak. An additional foreigner in Toamasina was sickened with plague and in the capital city of Antananarivo, a Seychellois and a Comorian were among the victims.

Also in Toamasina, it is reported that health workers and volunteers working in the fight against the plague epidemic have been hunted by furious residents. The people used sticks and knives to frighten the health workers.

As a result of this violent reaction, the DRSP Antsinanana decided to temporarily suspend activities at the community level Friday. This suspension of activities could expose some people who came into contact with patients, to the disease, thus, cause the appearance of new cases.

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