TYPE OF PLAGUE

What Is the Plague?

The plague is a serious bacterial infection that can be deadly. Sometimes referred to as the "black plague," the disease is caused by bacteria called Yersinia pestis. This bacteria is found on animals throughout the world and is usually transmitted to humans through fleas.

Types of Plague

There are three basic forms of plague.

• Bubonic Plague
• Pneumonic plague 
• septicemic plague 

Bubonic Plague 

The most common form of plague is bubonic plague. It is usually contracted when an infected rodent or flea bites you. In very rare cases, you can get the bacteria from material that has come into contact with an infected person.

Bubonic plague infects your lymphatic system (immune system), causing inflammation. Untreated, it can move into the blood and cause septicemic plague, or to the lungs, causing pneumonic plague.

Signs and Symptoms of the Plague

Symptoms of bubonic plague generally appear within two to seven days and include:

• fever and chills
• headache
• muscle pain
• general weakness
• seizures

You may also experience painful, swollen lymph glands, called buboes. These typically appear in the groin, armpits, neck, or site of the insect bite or scratch. The buboes are what gives bubonic plague its name.


Pneumonic Plague

When the bacteria multiply in the lungs, you have pneumonic plague—the most serious form of the disease. When a person with pneumonic plague coughs, the bacteria from their lungs are expelled into the air. Other people who breathe that air can also develop this highly contagious form of plague, which can lead to an epidemic.

Pneumonic Plague Symptoms

Pneumonic plague symptoms may appear as quickly as one day after exposure to the bacteria and include:

• trouble breathing
• chest pain
• cough
• fever
• headache
• overall weakness
• bloody sputum (saliva and mucus or pus from the lungs)

Septicemic Plague

When the bacteriamultiply in the bloodstream, it is calledsepticemic plague. When untreated, both bubonic and pneumonic plague can lead to septicemic plague.

Septicemic Plague Symptoms

Septicemic plague symptoms usually start within two to seven days after exposure, but septicemic plague can lead to death before symptoms even appear. Symptoms can include:

• abdominal pain
• diarrhea
• nausea and vomiting
• fever and chills
• weakness
• bleeding (blood may not be able to clot)
• shock

Septicemic plague is what people are referring to when they call the plague "Black Death."  It is also spread by flea bites, but can be contracted by handling dead animals that were infected.  Septicemic plague can present as the first sign of infection or it can develop from untreated bubonic plague.  Along with the fever, chills, and body aches of bubonic plague, septicemic plague also causes severe abdominal pain and shock.  The disease microorganisms spread through the blood and those infected actually begin bleeding into their skin and organs.  The skin turns black and dies.

references

• http://www.healthline.com/health/plague#Symptoms4
• http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/the-black-death-in-modern-times-a3553.html