Associated Press: In Madagascar, plague outbreak now threatens largest cities
“As plague cases rose last week in Madagascar’s capital, many city dwellers panicked. They waited in long lines for antibiotics at pharmacies and reached through bus windows to buy masks from street vendors. Schools have been canceled, and public gatherings are banned. The plague outbreak has killed 63 people in the Indian Ocean island nation. For the first time, the disease long seen in the country’s remote areas is largely concentrated in its two largest cities, Antananarivo and Toamasina…” (Carver, 10/16).

Associated Press: Plague cases double in Madagascar as treatment center sent
“With dozens dead from a plague outbreak in Madagascar, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Friday it is deploying its first-ever plague treatment center to the island nation. The World Health Organization said 561 cases have been reported so far, with another in the Seychelles…” (Keaten, 10/13).

NPR: Ask The Disease Specialist: Why Is It So Hard To Beat The Plague?
“…We checked in with Dr. Daniel Bausch, a virologist who was deeply involved in the response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic. Now, as director of the U.K. Public Health Rapid Support Team, he deploys health responders and epidemiologists to places experiencing bad outbreaks. In the last five months, he has sent teams to help tackle bouts of cholera in Ethiopia, meningitis in Nigeria, waterborne diseases in Sierra Leone after some terrible landslides, and now plague in Madagascar…” (Bichell, 10/12).