Bubonic Plague

About Bubonic Plague

• Plague is an infectious disease caused by a specific type of bacterium called Yersinia pestis, a zoonotic bacterium usually found in small mammals and their fleas.
• Y. pestis can affect humans and animals and is spread mainly by fleas.
• Bubonic plague is one type of plague. It gets its name from the swollen lymph nodes (buboes) caused by the disease.
  • Called the Black Death, it killed millions of Europeans during the Middle Ages.
• The other types of plague are:
  • Septicemic plague, which happens when the infection goes all through the body.
  • Pneumonic plague, which happens when the lungs are infected.
• Plague can be a very severe disease in people, with a case-fatality ratio of 30% to 60% for the bubonic type, and is always fatal for the pneumonic kind when left untreated.
• Symptoms: Bubonic plague symptoms include
  • Sudden high fever and chills.
  • Pains in the areas of the abdomen, arms, and legs.
  • Headaches.
  • Large and swollen lumps in the lymph nodes (buboes) that develop and leak pus.
• Transmission:
  • Y. pestis is spread mostly by fleas on rodents and other animals. 
  • It is transmitted between animals and humans by the bite of infected fleas, direct contact with infected tissues, and inhalation of infected respiratory droplets.
• The incubation period of bubonic plague is usually 2 to 8 days. 
• Treatment:
  • It can be treated and cured with antibiotics.
  • Antibiotics that treat bubonic plague include Ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, Gentamicin and Doxycycline.
  • It can be fatal if it’s not treated.

Source: NDTV

‹ ›