Madagascar village hit by fatal bubonic plague outbreak

• 10 HOURS AGODECEMBER 11, 2013 1:32PM

Medical tests were carried out after reports that at least 20 people in the village, near the town of Mandritsara, died last week, the BBC reports.

The Red Cross warned in October that the nation was at risk of a bubonic plague epidemic.

The plague, which does not spread from person to person, is a disease of wild rodents that is transmitted to humans via flea bites.

Madagascar recorded 60 deaths from the plague in 2012, the world's highest recorded number, the BBC says.

The large number of rodents in the nation's prisons means the plague can spread easily.

In the Middle Ages it was known as the Black Death, killing millions.

SOURCE: http://www.news.com.au/world/madagascar-village-hit-by-fatal-buboni...