A bubonic plague outbreak has killed 40 people and infected at least three times as many in Madagascar, the World Health Organization said. The data was recorded between August and mid-November, dpa quoted the UN health agency as saying Friday. At least 119 people have been infected in various regions including the capital Antananarivo, it said. Officials said there was a threat the disease could spread rapidly in the capital because of population density and poor sanitation. Authorities have been trying to contain the crisis with fumigations of insecticide. The disease is transmitted by fleas, which often reside in the hair of rats and other rodents.
