WORLD SITUATION OF Y-PESTIS INFECTIONS

The plague outbreak that occurred recently in India is a reminder that the disease is still present and frightening, The plague, which disap peared from India 30 years ago, re-emerged in Beed (Maharastra state) in its bubonic form in August 1994 and then in Surat (Gujarat state) i n its pneumonic form, one month later. 6 344 suspected cases were repo rted initially but this number was an overestimate. Only 876 cases hav e been serologically confirmed. The last human case in India was obser ved on October 11, 1994, This country is far from being the only one t o have an active plague focus. Between 1979 and 1993, 20 countries hav e declared to WHO 16 312 plague cases including 1 668 deaths. Africa i s the continent the most affected (9102 cases), followed by Asia (4702 cases) and America (2508 cases), In addition to the regular annual ca ses, several plague epidemics have been recorded recently in different countries (Zaire, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi; Zimbabwe, Peru, Myanm ar). Moreover, the number of plague cases reported in the world has un dergone a sharp rise over the last 15 years: The recent and continuous increase of plague should teach us not to lessen the epidemiological surveillance of the disease.