UAE warns citizens against travel to Madagascar

Dubai, Oct 18: The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention has warned its citizens against travel to Madagascar after the reported outbreak of pneumonic plague in the African country.

The Ministry has taken all necessary preventive measures to instill awareness in this regard, said Fatma Al-Attar, an official at the Health Ministry, affirming that there were no pneumonic plague cases in the United Arab Emirates.

The Ministry and health authorities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will issue circulars to all medical officers about the plague including methods of diagnosis, prevention, and isolation of patients, if any, as well as follow-up measures and care for the infected, she said.

Madagascar's health authorities were checking all those departing from the country's ports to ensure they were not carrying the diseases and all suspected cases were prevented from leaving and given all necessary medications, Attar said.

"There are no direct flights between the UAE and Madagascar, except for indirect trips run by local and international carriers via Kenya and Ethiopia," the official said.

"The Ministry calls upon all those wishing to travel to Madagascar to report to the travel clinics affiliated to the Ministry and get updated on all developments related to the disease in Madagascar and other world countries concerned in order to get the right vaccines and necessary medical instructions," Attar said.