What kind of organism caused the plague

It is caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis. Humans usually get plague after being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium or by handling an animal infected with plague.

Plague is infamous for killing millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages. Today, modern antibiotics are effective in treating plague. Without prompt treatment, the disease can cause serious illness or death.

Presently, human plague infections continue to occur in rural areas in the western United States, but significantly more cases occur in parts of Africa and Asia. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Emergency Preparedness and Response. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate.

Facts about Pneumonic Plague. Minus Related Pages. Depending on circumstances, these forms may occur separately or in combination: Pneumonic plague occurs when Y. This type of plague can spread from person to person through the air. Transmission can take place if someone breathes in aerosolized bacteria, which could happen in a bioterrorist attack.

Pneumonic plague is also spread by breathing in Y. Becoming infected in this way usually requires direct and close contact with the ill person or animal. Pneumonic plague may also occur if a person with bubonic or septicemic plague is untreated and the bacteria spread to the lungs.

Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague. This occurs when an infected flea bites a person or when materials contaminated with Y. Patients develop swollen, tender lymph glands called buboes and fever, headache, chills, and weakness. The United States, China, India, Vietnam, and Mongolia are among the other countries that have had confirmed human plague cases in recent years.

Within the U. Today, most people survive plague with rapid diagnosis and antibiotic treatment. Good sanitation practices and pest control minimize contact with infected fleas and rodents to help prevent plague pandemics. Plague is classified as a Category A pathogen , because it readily passes between people and could result in high mortality rates if untreated.

This classification has helped stoke fears that Y. As a small airborne particle it would cause pneumonic plague, the most lethal and contagious form. Of conservation concern , federally endangered black-footed ferrets contract another form of the plague, sylvatic plague, from nearby prairie dogs. Plague can decimate prairie dog populations, which are a critical food source for black-footed ferrets.

Scientists have started to administer a vaccine to prevent plague outbreaks in prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets. All rights reserved. Pieter Bruegel's "The Triumph of Death" Hell on Earth, the nightmare depicted by Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel in his midth-century "The Triumph of Death" reflects the social upheaval and terror that followed the plague that devastated medieval Europe. Stages of plague. This story has been updated. It was originally published on August 20, Share Tweet Email.

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