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What You Should Know About. . .
Pneumonic Plague
What is the plague?
How do people get plague?
What are the symptoms?
How is it transmitted?
Can the plague be treated?
Is there vaccine available to prevent the plague?
Is there preventive treatment?
How many cases of plague occur in the United States?
What is the mortality rate?
What is the plague?
Plague is an infectious disease of animals and humans caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Y. pestis, is found in rodents and their fleas in many areas around the world.
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How do people get plague?
By the bit of fleas infected with the plague bacteria.
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What are the symptoms?
Pneumonic plague occurs when Y. pestis infects the lungs. The first signs of illness in pneumonic plague are fever, headache, weakness, and cough productive of bloody or watery sputum. The pneumonia progresses over 2 to 4 days and may cause septic shock and, without early treatment, death.
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How is it transmitted?
Person-to-person transmission of pneumonic plague occurs through respiratory droplets, which can only infect those who have face-to-face contact with the ill patient.
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Can the plague be treated?
Early treatment of pneumonic plague is essential. Several antibiotics are effective, including streptomycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol.
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Is there vaccine available to prevent the plague?
There is no vaccine against plague.
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Is there preventive treatment?
Prophylactic antibiotic treatment for 7 days will protect persons who have had face-to-face contact with infected patients.
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How many cases of plague occur in the United States?
According to CDC, human plague in the United States has occurred as mostly scattered cases in rural areas (an average of 10 to 20 persons each year). Globally, the World Health Organization reports 1,000 to 3,000 cases of plague every year.
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What is the mortality rate of plague?
About 14% (1 in 7) of all plague cases in the United States are fatal. About 14% (1 in 7) of all plague cases in the United States are fatal according to CDC data.
For more information regarding the plague, visit CDC website
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