Plague

Plague Latest News

A suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia has triggered heightened public-health precautions after a 28-year-old laboratory worker at an anti-plague research institute died following severe pneumonia. 

About Plague

• Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas.
• Transmission
  • It is transmitted between animals through fleas.
  • Humans can be infected through: infected flea bites, contact with infected animal tissues or fluids and in the case of pneumonic plague inhalation of respiratory particles from an infected person or animal.

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Types of Plague

• Bubonic Plague
  • It is the most common form of plague and is caused by the bite of an infected flea.
  • Plague bacillus, Y. pestis, enters at the bite and travels through the lymphatic system to the nearest lymph node where it replicates itself.
  • The lymph node then becomes inflamed, tense and painful, and is called a ‘bubo’.
  • At advanced stages of the infection, the inflamed lymph nodes can turn into open sores
  • Symptoms: Sudden onset fever, chills, head and body aches and weakness, vomiting and nausea. Painful and inflamed lymph nodes can also appear.
• Pneumonic Plague
  • It is the most virulent form of plague.
  • Transmission: It transmits through respiratory droplets or particles from an infected person that can infect another person, particularly during close and sustained contact.
  • Symptoms: Its symptoms can appear very rapidly, sometimes within 24 hours of infection.
  • It includes high fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath and blood-stained sputum.
• Septicaemic plague
  • It occurs when Y. pestis multiplies rapidly in the bloodstream.
  • It can develop from any other form of plague.
  • Symptoms: Bleeding under the skin and, in some cases, a bluish discoloration of the skin (cyanosis) and tissue death (necrosis) of the extremities.

Treatment For Plague

• There is no routinely recommended plague vaccination for the general public.
• Antibiotics and supportive therapy are effective against plague if patients are diagnosed in time.

Source: IE