Disease

Anthrax in Kenya

Seven people from three families have been sickened with anthrax in the Sagumai area of Samburu County, Kenya after slaughtering and eating an infected sheep, according to a local media report. The seven, three men, two women and two children, have been admitted to the local hospital for treatment.

Dengue Fever in Myanmar

After reporting an average of a thousand dengue fever cases annually over the past four decades, health officials in Myanmar report seeing 8,266 cases through the first 11 months of 2016, according to a local media account. The Nay Pyi Taw Public Health Department said that the country has also seen 40 dengue related fatalities this year.

Plague in Madagascar

Plague, a disease many think of as something from the history books, is alive and well in many areas of the globe and is clearly no stranger to Madagascar. During the last decade, the island country reported more than 7,000 human plague cases, second most on the planet.

Reports coming out of the country say that an outbreak in the Befotaka Atsimo and the Midongy Atsimo district say that dozens of deaths have been reported in two months. “We have heard about people who died for little known causes in Ambalarano two months ago. The inhabitants of this commune who come to shop in Midongy Atsimo speak of it, but they believe that it is due to the sorcery”. The victims would have the same symptoms, namely swollen and tender lymph nodes, such as those of bubonic plague.

Leprosy in Queensland, Australia

Health officials with Queensland Health (QH) in the northeast corner of Australia have reported their fourth leprosy, or Hansen’s disease case of the year last week.