No vaccine is available, but scientists are working to develop one. Risk of death is high if treatment doesn't begin within 24 hours after symptoms start. Pneumonic plague is severe and worsens rapidly. Treatment may unintentionally be delayed. Death is more likely with septicemic plague because it is difficult to diagnose and worsens rapidly. Most people with bubonic plague survive with prompt diagnosis and treatment. The risk of death in people with all types of plague in the United States is around 11%. Rarely, the disease can be present in the tissues behind the nasal cavity and mouth, called the pharynx. Rarely, plague may cause swelling and disease of the protective tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Blood clots can form in the tiny blood vessels of the fingers, toes, nose and ears. government has guidelines for treatment and prevention of plague used as a weapon. Evidence exists of it being used or developed as a weapon in the past. government considers plague a possible biological weapon. HobbiesĬamping, hunting or hiking in areas where plague-carrying animals reside can increase the risk of being bitten by an infected flea. People who work in animal clinics in these regions also have a risk of coming into contact with pet cats and dogs with the disease. People are at risk of getting plague if they work outdoors in areas where plague-carrying animals are common. It also has occurred in cities with overcrowding, poor sanitation or large rat populations. The disease mostly survives in populations of rodents and their fleas in rural and semirural areas. Plague has been reported in the western United States, most often in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. In Madagascar there is usually an outbreak of plague every year. The most common locations are Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Peru. Plague has been reported in nearly all parts of the world. In the United States, seven people on average get plague each year. Worldwide, only a few thousand people get plague each year. People can become infected when they inhale the droplets or touch coughed-up mucus. Tiny droplets in the air can carry the bacteria when a person or animal coughs or sneezes. Pneumonic plague can be passed from animals to humans, or from humans to humans. For example, a hunter can pick up the disease while skinning or handling an animal with the illness. People also can get plague from direct contact with tissues of a sick animal. The fleas are likely to come from small wild animals or from pets. People are most likely to get plague from a flea bite. Other animals can get plague by eating small animals with the disease or picking up their fleas. In the western United States, these animals include: The bacteria circulate in populations of small animals and their fleas. Plague is caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis. The countries with frequent cases include Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Peru. In the western United States, most cases have been in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico.Ĭases have occurred in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Get emergency care if you have a sudden high fever or other symptoms and you live in an area that has had cases of plague. Get immediate care if you have a sudden high fever. If treatment is not begun the first day, the disease progresses rapidly to failure of the lungs, shock and death. Symptoms can begin within a few hours after exposure and worsen rapidly. The disease may begin in the lungs, or it may spread from infected lymph nodes to the lungs. Blackening and death of tissue, called gangrene, most commonly on the fingers, toes, ears and nose.Signs of shock, such as seizure, rash and low blood pressure.Bleeding from the mouth, nose or rectum, or under the skin.More-serious symptoms may develop with advanced disease and organ failure. Buboes may not be present.Įarly symptoms are very general and include: Septicemic plague occurs when plague bacteria multiply in the bloodstream. Other symptoms of bubonic plague may include: They vary in size from about less than half an inch (1 centimeter) to about 4 inches (10 centimeters). If a person has bubonic plague, buboes appear in the armpits, groin or neck. The word "bubonic" is describing this feature of the disease. These are small, bean-shaped filters in the body's immune system. Bubonic plagueīubonic plague causes swelling of lymph nodes.
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