The World Health Organization has confirmed today that they have sent medical experts to help with the recently discovered outbreak of Bubonic Plague in Libya.
Experts are travelling to Torbruq, a town close to the Egyptian border; to help local health officials manage the outbreak. One person has already died and several more have been infected.
Bubonic Plague, was also known as the Black Death in medieval Europe, and was responsible for the deaths of nearly one third of all Europeans between 1348 and 1350. Today the infection can be treated with antibiotics if diagnosed early enough.
Libyan Health Minister Mohamad Hijazi reported to the media that the situation is under control. "Thirteen cases of the plague have been recorded in a village 30 kilometers (20 miles) away from Tobruk. Eleven people have already been treated and left hospital," he said. "The situation is under control. We are leading a massive campaign to clean up and disinfect the place," he added.
According to the World Health Organization the plague is "primarily a disease of rodents and their fleas, which can infect humans. It is transmitted between rodents by rodent fleas, and can be transmitted to people when infected rodent fleas bite them."
In recent years cases of Bubonic Plague have been reported in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the United States.
Contact David Fewster - Worldwidehealth Editor
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