Bubonic plague threatens to engulf Zaire as UN kept at bay

BUNIA, Zaire - The Black Death is back. Bubonic plague, one of the most virulent diseases, has broken out in eastern Zaire and could spread rapidly, threatening large parts of the country, writes Richard Dowden.

The Zairean government denies the epidemic exists, and the United Nations' World Health Organisation is powerless to act unless invited to do so.

According to UN figures, more than 200 people have died in the past two years. Reported cases have leapt from 394 in 1992 to 636 last year, but doctors say most cases are unreported. From the Bunia region it could easily spread to other large towns including the capital, Kinshasa, which has 4.5 million

inhabitants.

Maurice Lendunga, director of the government's anti-plague programme in eastern Zaire, said yesterday that the only way to control the spread of the disease was to seal and quarantine the area. But the government of Mobutu Sese Seko is unlikely even to acknowledge the problem, let alone act.

Bubonic plague, which killed up to half Europe's population in the Middle Ages, is spread by rat fleas, but in later stages can be carried on the breath. It can kill in 48 hours. There is a vaccine, and the disease responds to powerful antibiotics, but Zaire no longer has an administration or a health service.

In Bunia there are only 11 doctors for 3 million people.

Zaire's suffering, page 9