A new model sheds light on the seasonal dynamics of plague in Madagascar — a step toward better prevention through a One Health approach. 🔗 Read more: www.pasteur.fr/en/research-... @scauchemez.bsky.social @abrault.bsky.social @fanohi.bsky.social

Plague in Madagascar: a new model sheds light on the seasonality of outbreaks

A new model has been developed to elucidate the seasonal dynamics of plague in Madagascar. In this country, where the disease remains endemic, and most often occurs between October and March. The asso...

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Led by @fanohi.bsky.social, and co-supervised by @scauchemez.bsky.social, this study is the result of a fruitful collaboration between Institut Pasteur Madagascar and @pasteur.fr.

Finally, we evaluated intervention strategies and found that targeting both rats and their fleas at the start of the epidemic season (July–Sep) was the most effective way for reducing human plague cases. This proactive strategy contrasts with the reactive measures currently used in Madagascar.

Plague remains a health issue in several parts of the world—especially in Madagascar, where epidemics follow a seasonal pattern. In our new @pnas.org paper, we link that seasonality to rat and flea dynamics and quantify the impact of various control strategies. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...