WHO Probes Report of Bubonic Plague in Libyan Town

June 16, 2009

Libyan authorities have reported an outbreak of bubonic plague in the Mediterranean coastal town of Tubruq, and the World Health Organisation was sending a team to investigate, a WHO official said.

The cases - approximately 16 to 18 have been reported - would be the first in more than two decades in Libya of the disease known in medieval times as the Black Death, according to John Jabbour, a Cairo-based emerging diseases specialist at WHO. "It is reported as bubonic plague," Jabbour said, adding WHO still didn't have "a full picture" of the situation.

"It is officially reported by Libya... Tomorrow, WHO is deploying a mission to Libya to investigate the whole situation, to see how many of the cases are confirmed, or not confirmed."

© 2009 Thomson Reuters Foundation AlertNet

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