Outbreak of Plague in a High Malaria Endemic Region - Nyimba District, Zambia, March-May 2015.

Outbreak of Plague in a High Malaria Endemic Region - Nyimba District, Zambia, March-May 2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016;65(31):807-11 Authors: Sinyange N, Kumar R, Inambao A, Moonde L, Chama J, Banda M, Tembo E, Nsonga B, Mwaba J, Fwoloshi S, Musokotwane K, Chizema E, Kapin'a M, Hang'ombe BM, Baggett HC, Hachaambwa L Abstract Outbreaks of plague have been recognized in Zambia since 1917 (1). On April 10, 2015, Zambia's Ministry of Health was notified by the Eastern Provincial Medical Office of possible bubonic plague cases in Nyimba District. Eleven patients with acute fever and cervical lymphadenopathy had been evaluated at two rural health centers during March 28-April 9, 2015; three patients died. To confirm the outbreak and develop control measures, the Zambia Ministry of Health's Field Epidemiology Training Program (ZFETP) conducted epidemiologic and laboratory investigations in partnership with the University of Zambia's schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine and the provincial and district medical offices. Twenty-one patients with clinically compatible plague were identified, with symptom onset during March 26-May 5, 2015. The median age was 8 years, and all patients were from the same village. Blood specimens or lymph node aspirates from six (29%) patients tested positive for Yersinia pestis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). There is an urgent need to improve early identification and treatment of plague cases. P...
Source: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl... - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Source Type: research