Plague outbreak in southern Malawi reported under control

An outbreak of bubonic plague which hit the district of Nsanje in southern Malawi several months ago is said to be under control.

Malawian radio quoted the district's environmental health officer as saying a total of 325 people had been treated for the disease, of whom 17 were currently receiving treatment in a medical isolation centre.

The number of patients coming to the district's health centre had dropped, the official said.

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.