Madagascar red-faced after mass jail break out- Joanna Langner

Madagascar red-faced after mass jail break out: 

            As I try to get a rounded idea of what Madagascar is like, I decided to write a post on safety and police forces.

            Last Tuesday, (May 3^rd 2016) there was a highly embarrassing event for the prison officials in Antananarivo (the same place that we are flying into). As a result of the three week long strike by prison workers, over 30 inmates escaped in an attempt to run away to the Indian Ocean island nation.

            The event occurred at 1:30 in the morning, and it is said it is possible that the guards helped the inmates escape, but this has not been confirmed yet.

            Out of the 37 that escaped, only 6 have been caught as of today. The justice ministry spokesman, Jeremie Napou, was very reluctant to share this information because of how embarrassing the event is. He even refuses to share exactly how this event occurred because he wants to spend time investigating first so he can give the exact, correct story. I believe he might want to wait so he can have a defense ready as well. He has claimed that the Tulear prison is has good security resources and guarding.

            The strike by the prison staff is in response to the lack of adequate transportation for inmates who need to go to court. Currently, public transportation is being used which is inefficient and dangerous.

            One of the most shocking things I read about this event is the fact that two of the inmates who are thought to have possibly escaped are two well-known and dangerous murderers.

            Let’s hope they find everyone before we get there!

Here is the link!

http://www.modernghana.com/news/689750/madagascar-red-faced-after-mass-jail-breakout.html

-      -  Jo Langner 

National Geographic- Seeking an End to the Terror of Rabies in Madagascar- Joanna Langner

National Geographic- Seeking an End to the Terror of Rabies in Madagascar

            In line with my last post, I wanted to further explore sicknesses and disease in Madagascar that we are at risk of, and should therefore be fully educated on. Rabies is one of the more serious diseases that we have could come close to.

            While reading this article I learned that rabies is one of the oldest diseases to infect humans, and it is fatal to humans and dogs. The incubation period of rabies can range from days to even years before any symptoms show, and by this time it is too late to treat the patient. The symptoms are very extreme, and the pathogen has adapted to make its host have a fear of water, causing the host to have extreme thirst and over-salivate. This extra saliva helps spread the disease. Hence the common association of an infected person “foaming at the mouth.” It is amazing to me that the pathogen has adapted this complicated approach to help it spread and survive.

            People are currently looking into research about the transmission and persistence of rabies in dogs in Madagascar, which has previously been studied in Tanzania. The first person to get rabies in Madagascar was infected in 1896. After this event, an institution named Institut Pasteur de Madagascar (IPM) was created. Its original goal was to combat rabies, but it has transformed to be a source of research for doctors and scientists. It gives free, post exposure prophylaxis to people who are thought to be at risk from being exposed to a rabid animal.

            This sound like a great program because it helps people get treatment before the disease can reach the symptomatic stage, therefore preventing death from rabies.

            To eliminate this disease and eradicate the pathogen people have put in place mass vaccination campaign for dogs. Being an isolated island it will be easier, yet still difficult for this to work.

            Some doctors’ claim that rabies is everywhere in Madagascar and it had been raging for a long time, meaning it most likely will not be eradicated soon. This means there is a lot of work to do for the big challenge!

This photograph depicts two boys who just got their puppies vaccinated in one of the many effective mass vaccination clinics for rabies.

Here is the link! http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/05/seeking-an-end-to-the-terror-of-rabies-in-madagascar/

-       Jo Langner

Plague in Madagascar - Michaela

In 2014, there was an outbreak of the plague (yes, the plague that killed millions in the dark ages) in Madagascar. 263 cases were documented, and 71 people died from it. The WHO evaluated plague as having a high risk of becoming an epidemic given that it is highly contagious via coughing, and that urban places in Madagascar are densely packed. The country's weak healthcare system would adds to this risk. The plague is also spread via fleas, which are particularly rampant after rainy seasons. The fleas are becoming resistant to the insecticides typically used against them. Apparently plague outbreaks have resurfaced every few years since 1980, and Madagascar is the country most severely affected by the plague in the world.

check it out!

Reckless Driving by Cam Park

Reckless driving is a problem everywhere, but recently, this problem reached a climax in Antananarivo. Last week, Madagascans held a silent walk in the country’s capital to fight against the irresponsible behavior of commercial drivers. This even was organized in memory of the children who lost their lives to reckless driving this month. There was a recent accident last Friday where 10 people were killed, 6 of whom were primary school children. Many commercial drivers have been accused of reckless behavior like excessive speeding and passenger overload. They argue that they are trying to meet their daily financial targets in order to keep their jobs. Reckless driving has become a significant problem for Madagascar and traffic related deaths account for 2.9% of nationwide deaths. 

As a response, the Madagascan authorities announced that all drivers will be required to get biometric licenses by next Jun and all offenders would be penalized once this ruling goes into effect.

Male Spiders and Oral Sex

by Cameron Park 

So, spiders have generally been known to do weird things during sexual reproduction.For example, some spider species have been known to castrate themselves and some females are known to eat their male counterparts after doing the deed. 

Recently, scientists have discovered another interesting sexual trait of spiders, namely the Darwin’s bark spiders (Caerostris darwini) found in Madagascar. And that sexual behavior is comparable to oral sex. Specifically, the male spider has been known salivate on the genitalia of the female spiders as part of their sexual behavior. They typically do this before, during and after mating. Some spiders will perform this act as many as 100 times.

One reason this may be a prevalent behavior is that it can boost chances of producing offspring and can also help establish a chemical environment that would make their sperm seem more fit than others. There have also been enzymes found in male spiders that may be used to destroy seem leftover from previous mating partners. 

Oral sex is very rare in the animal kingdom with mammals being the only ones to have shown this tendency (namely, lemurs (!), bats, dolphins, lions). These mammals have been observed engaging in more fellatio-like behavior while the cunnilingus-like behavior shown by the bark spiders s even more rare. 

Surgeons, or Lack Thereof, in - Michaela

According to the NYT estimates, a patient in Madagascar has a 90% chance of incurring financial catastrophe in order to achieve surgery. That is, of course, if they can find access to surgery in the first place. 71% of people in Madagascar don't have access to surgery, which is unsurprising given that there are forty times fewer surgical specialists (surgeons, anesthesiologists, obstetricians) per person in Madagascar than in the US. Of these, 75% live in urban cities, despite only 35% of the country's general population living there. What becomes even more depressing is that Madagascar is doing better than most countries in Africa in this respect. Eight million people (!!!!) a year die globally as a result of lack of access to surgery specifically - this causes a burden of disease on par with that of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, but receives far less attention and far fewer resources. It's got me wondering about what technologies are out there or could be designed for surgery in remote locations or in the field. Definitely something I'll be thinking about on our trip. - Michaela
Check it out here!

Rabies -- Lark Trumbly

Although we don't need rabies shots to travel to Madagascar, the threat of rabies is very real for those who spend their lives there. With a 100% fatality rate, rabies is easily one of the least pleasant ways to die -- the brain becomes inflamed, leading to paralysis, hallucinations, insomnia, and/or paranoia. Additionally, the rabid individual is often incredibly thirsty while paradoxically displaying intense hydrophobia, frequently associated with "furious" rabies.

The Malagasy call rabies haromotana, or "twisted in fury," a reference to the foaming mouth and spastic motions of a rabies patient. The Institut Pasteur de Madagascar (IPM), founded in 1898, has continually sought to understand the spread and treatment of rabies. Moreover, the IPM offers free rabies treatments for those who may have been bitten (luckily for us). Researchers believe rabies could feasibly be eliminated in Madagascar as long as certain preventative measures (like vaccinating dogs) are taken. The United States has very few rabies cases -- hopefully Madagascar will soon be the same.

I'm not going to put a picture of rabies on here because it's terrifying, so here's a very non-rabid dog:

Source: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/05/seeking-an-end-to-the-terror-of-rabies-in-madagascar/