Experts have warned that the deadly plague outbreak in Madagascar will spread to nearby African countries.
The countries at risk include, South Africa, Seychelles, La Reunion, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Comoros and Mauritius.
The World Bank has released $5 million emergency funding to tackle what has been described as the “worst outbreak in 50 years”.
Cases of the plague have spiraled by 37 percent in less than a week and the most recent statistics show at least 1,800 people are now infected and 127 deaths have been recorded.
Two thirds of cases have been caused by the airborne pneumonic plague, which can be spread through coughing, sneezing or spitting and kill within 24 hours.
Leading scientists have predicted the extent of this year’s outbreak may escalate, as it is stronger than the traditional bubonic form that rocks the nation each year.
MailOnline quoted Prof. Johnjoe McFadden, a molecular geneticist at Surrey University, saying: “It’s a terrible disease. It’s broadly caused more deaths of humans than anything else, it’s a very deadly pathogen.
“It can be treated if you get the disease early enough, but when it hits developing countries, you really need to start within a day or so of the first symptoms.”
However, Professor McFadden warned in countries such as Madagascar, “people often need to walk more than a day to receive proper medical treatment”.
He also stressed the pneumonic strain of plague which is currently blighting the island off the coast of Africa can still be deadly even with treatment.
“Famously it’s transmitted from rats to mankind via rat fleas, which makes it a disease of the poorest and the most overcrowded,” Professor McFadden added.
“It is a disease of poverty where humans are being forced to live very close to rats and usually means poor sewage and poor living conditions.
“That’s the root cause of why it’s still a problem in the world. If we got rid of rats living close enough to mankind then we wouldn’t have the disease.”
Health officials are unsure how this year’s outbreak began, but local media report that forest fires have driven rats towards rural communities.
This is believed to have been the start of the bubonic outbreak, which then develops into the more virulent pneumonic form which spreads rapidly without treatment.
Concerned health officials have also warned that an ancient ritual, called Famadihana, where relatives dig up the corpses of their loved ones, may be fueling the spread.
To limit the danger of Famadihana, rules enforced at the beginning of the outbreak dictate plague victims cannot be buried in a tomb that can be reopened.
Instead, their remains must be held in an anonymous mausoleum. But the local media has reported several cases of bodies being exhumed covertly.
Despite the serious risks publicised by the authorities, few in Madagascar question the turning ceremonies and dismiss the advice.
The plague outbreak in Madagascar tends to begin in September and ends in April. Tarik Jašarević of the World Health Organization confirmed it would be no different this year.
