©2017 SpatioEpi.com
Data source: Hospital Authority, Hong Kong
Map created by CUHK SpatioEpi Group
Since August 2017, there has been an ongoing outbreak of plague in Madagascar, Africa. In 3 months’ time (1 Aug – 24 Oct 2017), more than 1300 cases were reported, including at least 90 deaths. Thirty-seven out of 114 districts of the country have reported cases (http://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/plague/plague-outbreak-situation-reports). Around two-third of reported cases in the current outbreak in Madagascar were pneumonic plague. At least 70 healthcare workers were infected.
Seychelles, Madagascar’s neighboring country, has reported imported cases. Besides Seychelles, another 8 countries (marked red on the map), which have trade and travel links to Madagascar, have been identified as priority countries for plague preparedness by WHO. Some of the 9 countries were identified as areas with potential plague natural foci (purple hashed areas) by WHO previously. Please refer to our another SpatioEpi map for the epidemic of plague in these places in the past decades (http://www.spatioepi.com/detail.asp?id=0167d&defaultcat=s012).
Data for the map were extracted from WHO.
今年(2017)八月,馬達加斯加爆發的鼠疫持續至11月而尚未完結。在8月1日至10月24日的3個月期間,已經有超過1300呈報個案,包括最少90死亡個案,覆蓋全國114地區中的37個 (http://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/plague/plague-outbreak-situation-reports)。今年馬達加斯加的鼠疫爆發有三份二個案被診斷為肺鼠疫,最少70個醫護人員受感染。
鄰近的塞舌爾共和國也受鼠疫影響,呈報了傳入個案。除了塞舌爾共和國,世界衛生組織宣佈另外8個與馬達加斯加有貿易交通來往的國家為防備鼠疫的重點國家(地圖紅色地方)。當中部份地方此前被世界衛生組織訂定為潛在鼠疫自然疫源(地圖紫色格地方)。這些地方過去有關鼠疫疫情可參考另一幅公共衛生地圖 (http://www.spatioepi.com/detail.asp?id=0167d&defaultcat=s012)。
地圖資料源自世界衛生組織
Plague is caused by the bacteria Yersinia petis, which is transmitted from rodent to rodent by infected fleas. If bitten by an infected flea, a person usually develops a bubonic form of plague, which is characterised by a swelling of the draining lymph node. While bubonic plague is the commonest, there are also the septicaemic form and pneumonic form. Septicaemic plague occurs when infection spreads directly through the bloodstream, while the pneumonic form is the most virulent but least common. Plague also spreads from human to human by inhalation of aerosolised infective droplets, in the absence of flea or animal.
A Hong Kong outbreak of plague occurred in Tai Ping Shan of Sheung Wan District in 1894. In fact, the bubonic plague bacillus was isolated in Hong Kong at that time by Alexandre Yersin from France.
鼠疫是由耶爾辛氏鼠疫桿菌所引起,在齧齒動物中經由受感染的跳蚤傳播。假若人類被受感染的跳蚤叮咬,被叮位置的淋巴結會腫脹起來形成淋巴腺鼠疫,是最常見的鼠疫。另外,敗血症型鼠疫是細菌直接經血液中擴散所致;而肺炎性鼠疫則是毒性最強但最罕見的類別。肺炎性鼠疫是不需要經跳蚤或動物媒介,而是由人傳人經空氣吸入受感染飛沬傳播。香港曾於一八九四年在上環太平山一帶爆發一場鼠疫。當時法國科學家耶爾辛氏在香港發現淋巴腺鼠疫的桿菌。
Further information 詳細資料