Disease

Plague - Madagascar

An outbreak of plague in Madagascar has killed two people, a health official said on Tuesday, marking the official start of the season when the disease is considered to be at its deadliest. Last year more than 200 people were killed before epidemics of bubonic and pneumonic plague were brought under control in November.

Foot and Mouth Disease - Sierra Leone

About 500 animals, including small ruminants like goats and ship, have died in an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in Sierra Leone, report said Monday.The Ministry of Health says the highly contagious and infectious viral disease which affects animals spilled over from neighboring Guinea. It said three districts – Kono in the east and Kambia and Tonkolili in the north have been affected so far. All three districts share border with Guinea and Liberia.

Chikungunya - Sudan

The Sudan Federal Ministry of Health has reported more than 6,200 chikungunya cases in the current outbreak in Sudan’s northeastern state of Kassala. However, the health sector says the number of people affected is much higher than official numbers. Seven chikungunya related fatalities have been reported.