Plague is a disease caused by
Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis), a bacterium found
in rodents and their fleas in many areas around the world. Three types of plague
exist pneumonic, bubonic, and septicemic.
1. Is pneumonic plague different
from bubonic plague?
Yes. Both are caused by Yersinia
pestis, but they are transmitted differently and their symptoms differ. Pneumonic
plague can be transmitted from person to person; bubonic plague cannot.
Pneumonic plague is transmitted when a person breathes in
Y. pestis particles in the air. Bubonic plague is transmitted
through the bite of an infected flea or exposure to infected material through a
break in the skin. Pneumonic plague affects the lungs. Bubonic plague
causes buboes, which are swollen, tender lymph glands.
2. Does plague occur naturally?
Yes. An average of 5-15 cases occur each year in
the western United States. Most cases are of the bubonic form of the disease.
3. What are the signs and symptoms of
pneumonic plague?
Patients usually have fever, weakness, and rapidly
developing pneumonia with shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and sometimes
bloody or watery sputum. Nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain may also occur. Without
early treatment, pneumonic plague usually leads to respiratory failure, shock, and
rapid death.
4. Can people exposed to pneumonic
plague avoid becoming sick?
Yes. People who have had close contact with an infected
person can greatly reduce the chance of becoming sick if they begin treatment within
7 days of their exposure. Treatment consists of taking antibiotics for at least
7 days.
5. Is a vaccine available to prevent
pneumonic plague?
Currently, no plague vaccine is available in the
United States. Research is in progress, but we are not likely to have vaccines for
several years or more.
CDC Website on Plague