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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

The southeast African island of Madagascar [aljazeera.com] is scrambling to contain an outbreak of pneumonic plague that has killed at least 42 people and infected 343 more since August. [aljazeera.com]
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Pneumonic, the most lethal form, has broken out in Madagascar. Highly contagious, it is transmitted from person to person often by coughing. If untreated, it has a fatality rate close to 100 percent and can be fatal within 24 hours of being contracted.

Bubonic plague is spread by fleas or rodents to humans and can spread to a person's lungs. About 10 percent of bubonic plague cases develop to become pneumonic.
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WHO has sent 1.2 million doses of antibiotics to not only treat the current epidemic but prevent it from spreading. Up to 5,000 infected people will be able to be treated and an additional 100,000 who may have been exposed can be given prophylactics.

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