Plague

Plague Latest News

A resident of north Arizona, United States, recently died from pneumonic plague, marking the first death in the region in 18 years.

About Plague

• Plague is an infectious disease caused by a specific type of zoonotic bacterium called Yersinia pestis.
• This disease usually spreads through bites from fleas that previously bit an infected animal.
• Plague is infamous for killing millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages. 
• Nowadays, it is a rare but persistent cause of illness in rural areas in the western United States and certain regions of Africa and Asia.
• There are three types of plague.  Bubonic plague infects your lymph nodes, septicemic plague is in your blood and pneumonic plague affects your lungs.
• Pneumonic plague, which spreads to the lungs from other untreated forms of plague, is the most serious and is usually rare.
• 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.
• Plague can be cured with antibiotics, but these must be given promptly to prevent serious illness or death.

Source: LM

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