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Volume 24, Number 2—February 2018
Synopsis

Ecologic Features of Plague Outbreak Areas, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2004–2014

Aaron Aruna AbediComments to Author , Jean-Christophe Shako, Jean Gaudart, Bertrand Sudre, Benoit Kebela Ilunga, Stomy Karhemere Bi Shamamba, Georges Diatta, Bernard Davoust, Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, Renaud Piarroux, and Martine Piarroux
Author affiliations: Ministry of Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (A.A. Abedi, B.K. Ilunga); Plague Reference Laboratory, Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (J.-C. Shako); Aix Marseille University, INSERM, IRD, SESSTIM, Marseille, France (J. Gaudart); UMR 6249 Chrono-environment CNRS/INRA/UFC, Franche-Comté University, Besançon, France (B. Sudre); National Institute of Biomedical Research, Kinshasa (S.K.B. Shamamba, J.-J.M. Tamfum); Aix Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, INSERM, URMITE, Dakar, Senegal (G. Diatta); Aix Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, INSERM, URMITE, Marseille (B. Davoust); Pierre and Marie Curie University, INSERM, IPLESP, Paris, France (R. Piarroux, M. Piarroux)

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Figure 1

Timeline of plague cases, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1928–2014 (2,4–7). A) 1928: Detection of the first cases of plague in Ituri. B) 1933: First epidemiologic studies on plague. C) 1960: Independence of DRC, followed by the departure of expatriates dedicated to the fight against the plague. D) 1966: Armed conflicts in Ituri. E) 1968: End of postindependence conflicts. F) 1975: Surveillance and control assigned to the Ministry of Environment. G) 1979: Dereliction of con

Figure 1. Timeline of plague cases, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1928–2014 (2,4–7). A) 1928: Detection of the first cases of plague in Ituri. B) 1933: First epidemiologic studies on plague. C) 1960: Independence of DRC, followed by the departure of expatriates dedicated to the fight against the plague. D) 1966: Armed conflicts in Ituri. E) 1968: End of postindependence conflicts. F) 1975: Surveillance and control assigned to the Ministry of Environment. G) 1979: Dereliction of control and reporting activities in Ituri. H) 1984: Control activities assigned to the Ministry of Health. I) 1987: First large epidemic episode, mostly in Ituri. J) 1996: Beginning of armed conflicts: first Congo war (1996), second Congo war (1999), and Ituri conflict (2003). K) 2003: Weakening of armed conflicts. Population data for former Kivu (corresponding to Maniema, North Kivu, and South Kivu) and Haut-Zaire (corresponding to Orientale Province) were calculated by smoothing data between the years with a known estimate (1947, 1955, 1975, 1984, 2000). Incidence is per 100,000 population.

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