# Now headed for 9 Counties quote : PLAGUE warnings have been issued for NINE countries surrounding Madagascar amid fears the disease could spread via sea trade and flight routes.

The outbreak is considered a much bigger threat to the region than in previous years because it has taken on its pneumonic form - meaning it is airborne and spread by sneezing and coughing."

What is the plague ?

Quote : " Plague is an infectious disease caused by bacteria usually found in small mammals and their fleas.

It has an extremely high fatality rate and is very infectious, although it can be treated by antibiotics if it's caught early.

There are three forms of plague infection: pneumoic plague, septicaemic plague and bubonic plague, the most common form.

Bubonic plague was known as the Black Death in medieval Europe, where an outbreak brought entire civilisations to their knees and decimated the world's population.

Black Death is spread through the bite of infected fleas, whereas pneumonic plague, the most contagious form, develops after a bubonic infection.

Pneumonic infections can then be spread through the air, while septicaemic plague occurs when infection spreads through the bloodstream.

The three different types of plague all refer to different ways the disease can be spread.

In bubonic infections, plague-causing bacteria can be transmitted between animals and fleas, with infected fleas then passing the disease on to people through bites.

Infected people may then develop pneumonic plague once their bubonic infection becomes advanced.

Lung-based pneumonic plague can then sometimes be transmitted through the air between sufferers.

Following a pneumonic or bubonic infection, people can then develop septicaemic plague, which occurs when the infection spreads through the bloodstream."

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4765804/black-death-warning-in-nine-countries-including-brit-holiday-hotspots-amid-fears-plague-could-spread-on-flights-from-madagascar/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4765804/black-death-warning-in-nine-countries-including-brit-holiday-hotspots-amid-fears-plague-could-spread-on-flights-from-madagascar/