Symptoms of bubonic plague usually appear suddenly within 2 to 5 days after the human is bitten by infected flea. In a plague of this kind, the lymphatic system is most affected causing development of bubo which is characterized by painful swelling of the lymph gland. The bubo generally develops in the groin region, but can also occur in the armpits and or the neck. The site of development is usually the site of insect bite. Individuals also suffer from pain before the onset of swelling. In addition, individuals with bubonic plague may also suffer from malaise, fever with chills, headache, seizures and muscle aches.

• Fever

  Other symptoms of bubonic plague include headache, fever, chills, and weakness. Bubonic plague can lead to gangrene (tissue death) of the fingers, toes, and nose. Also called Black Death and Black Plague. [medicinenet.com]

  Fever, chills and prostration are common. Pneumonic plague presents primarily wth fever, chills, cough and dyspnea. [clinicaladvisor.com]

  Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers a contagious disease, the most common form of plague, caused by a bacterium ( Yersinia pestis ) transmitted by fleas from infected rats, and characterized by buboes, fever, prostration, and delirium see also Black [collinsdictionary.com]

  Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary bubonic plague noun noun BrE BrE / / bjuː ˌbɒnɪk ˈpleɪɡ / / ; NAmE NAmE / / bjuː ˌbɑːnɪk ˈpleɪɡ / / ( also the plague ) [ uncountable ] Add to my wordlist jump to other results a disease spread by rats that causes fever [oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com]

  ‘In addition to treating tuberculosis, streptomycin was effective against typhoid fever, cholera, bubonic plague and other diseases.’ [en.oxforddictionaries.com]

• Chills

  Other symptoms of bubonic plague include headache, fever, chills, and weakness. Bubonic plague can lead to gangrene (tissue death) of the fingers, toes, and nose. Also called Black Death and Black Plague. [medicinenet.com]

  […] bubonic plague the most common form of the plague in humans pulmonic plague a rapidly progressive and frequently fatal form of the plague that can spread through the air from person to person; characterized by lung involvement with chill, bloody expectoration [vocabulary.com]

  Fever, chills and prostration are common. Pneumonic plague presents primarily wth fever, chills, cough and dyspnea. [clinicaladvisor.com]

  The CDC notes that healthcare providers should consider plague in patients who have traveled to plague-endemic areas and exhibit fever, headache, chills, weakness, and one or more swollen or tender and painful lymph nodes, referred to as buboes. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Once bitten by a flea carrying the bacteria, symptoms usually develop two to six days after being bitten, and include sudden fever, headache, chills, and painful, swollen lymph nodes (known as buboes). [news.health.com]

• Swelling

  Advanced Learner's Dictionary bubonic plague noun noun BrE BrE / / bjuː ˌbɒnɪk ˈpleɪɡ / / ; NAmE NAmE / / bjuː ˌbɑːnɪk ˈpleɪɡ / / ( also the plague ) [ uncountable ] Add to my wordlist jump to other results a disease spread by rats that causes fever, swellings [oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com]

  In a plague of this kind, the lymphatic system is most affected causing development of bubo which is characterized by painful swelling of the lymph gland. [symptoma.com]

  Symptoms are only a slight fever and mild swelling of the lymph nodes. [flexikon.doccheck.com]

  Origin bubonic plague ( 1800-1900 ) Medieval Latin bubo “ swelling ”, from Greek boubon “ (swelling in) the groin ” [ldoceonline.com]

  This ultimately resulted in the English reformation Black Death Symptoms The symptoms of the Black Death were terrible and swift: Painful swellings (buboes) of the lymph nodes These swellings, or buboes, would appear in the armpits, legs, neck, or groin [middle-ages.org.uk]

• Weakness

  Other symptoms of bubonic plague include headache, fever, chills, and weakness. Bubonic plague can lead to gangrene (tissue death) of the fingers, toes, and nose. Also called Black Death and Black Plague. [medicinenet.com]

  The CDC notes that healthcare providers should consider plague in patients who have traveled to plague-endemic areas and exhibit fever, headache, chills, weakness, and one or more swollen or tender and painful lymph nodes, referred to as buboes. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock, and bleeding into the skin and other organs are symptoms of septicemic plague. [invisiverse.wonderhowto.com]

  Pneumonic plague: Patients develop fever, headache, weakness, and a rapidly developing pneumonia with shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and sometimes bloody or watery mucous. [readynutrition.com]

• Hunting

  The Oregon Health Authority said the girl likely acquired the disease from a flea bite while on a hunting trip near Heppner, Oregon that began Oct. 16. [ibtimes.com]

  Marmots are known to be susceptible to Bubonic plague and hunting them in Siberia is banned as a result (Reuters) At least 4,000 local residents will be vaccinated as a precaution. [independent.co.uk]

  The Oregon Health Authority said the girl likely acquired the disease from a flea bite during a hunting trip near Heppner on Oct. 16. She got sick five days later and was admitted to the intensive care unit at a Bend hospital. [usatoday.com]

  Seven of the eight cases occurred in adult males who had hunted rabbits during winter months in plague-endemic areas. These patients had upper extremity buboes, and the case-fatality ration for the group was 50%. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  When hunting, hiking, or playing with rodents this spooky season, remember that that the plague is still alive and well. [ Image via Flickr ] [gawker.com]

• Cough

  It either occurs when the infection spreads to the lungs late in one of the other plague disease processes, or when one person or animal with pneumonic plague coughs, releasing infected droplets into the air that another person or animal breathes in. [doghealth.com]

  Symptoms in patients with pneumonic plague include cough, chest pain, bronchopneumonia, labored breathing, and hemoptysis (blood in the fluid produced by coughing). [web.archive.org]

  It is not transmitted from human to human unless the patient also has a lung infection and is coughing. [seattletimes.com]

  Systemic Implications and Complications With progression of the disease, patients may experience high fever, chills, malaise, cough, dyspnea and hemoptysis. [clinicaladvisor.com]

  Whooping cough Whooping cough, or pertussis, is yet another disease that's made a comeback in recent years, and the anti-vaccination movement isn't the only reason why. [pri.org]

• Vomiting

  Symptoms include: Cough, sometimes with blood Trouble breathing Nausea and vomiting Continued Who Gets It? For most people, the chances of the plague are low. [webmd.com]

  Symptoms include sudden onset fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal and/or back pain, and weakness. [avma.org]

  Symptoms of the bubonic form of the plague in humans include fever, chills, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea and swollen lymph nodes in the groin, armpit or neck areas. [cbsnews.com]

  Initial symptoms of the plague — flu-like vomiting, intense lymph node pain — appear anywhere from seven to 10 days after infection. [cosmopolitan.com]

• Nausea

  Symptoms include fever, headaches, nausea, fatigue, and swelling of the lymph nodes (called buboes) on the neck, underarms, and inner thigh areas, and eventually bleeding beneath the skin. [d20pfsrd.com]

  Early symptoms of plague include high fever, chills, nausea, weakness and swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin. Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Kavita Chandran [reuters.com]

  Plague symptoms include fever, headache, pain or swelling in the groin, armpit or neck, weakness, and, in some cases, nausea and usually appear two to six days after the initial infection. [sciencetimes.com]

  They include an overall feeling of sickness, sudden fever, abdominal pain, swollen lymph nodes, nausea and vomiting. The plague can be successfully treated with antibiotics, but only with a prompt diagnosis and treatment. [cbs4indy.com]

  Plague symptoms include fever; headache; pain or swelling in the groin, armpit or neck area; weakness; and, occasionally, nausea. Symptoms usually appear within two to six days after exposure. [rt.com]

• Tachycardia

  Septic signs may also include diarrhea, vomiting, tachycardia, weak pulse, prolonged capillary refill time, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, and respiratory distress. Primary pneumonic plague has not been documented in cats. [merckvetmanual.com]

• Neck Weakness

  Plague symptoms include fever, headache, pain or swelling in the groin, armpit or neck, weakness, and, in some cases, nausea and usually appear two to six days after the initial infection. [sciencetimes.com]

• Insect Bite

  One patient developed insect bites after sleeping in the same bed with a flea-infested cat. Three of the other five patients had insect bites, presumably flea bites, but none of the five recalled contact with rodents or rabbits. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  The area of the insect bite is where the bubo develops. Individuals may also experience pain in the area of the insect bite prior to the occurrence of bubo. [symptoma.com]

  For instance, rather than traveling from an insect bite to the lymph nodes, the bacteria can enter the body through other routes and cause an entirely different set of symptoms. [rarediseases.about.com]

  These typically appear in the groin, armpits, neck, or site of the insect bite or scratch. The buboes are what give bubonic plague its name. [healthline.com]

• Headache

  Other symptoms of bubonic plague include headache, fever, chills, and weakness. Bubonic plague can lead to gangrene (tissue death) of the fingers, toes, and nose. Also called Black Death and Black Plague. [medicinenet.com]

  The CDC notes that healthcare providers should consider plague in patients who have traveled to plague-endemic areas and exhibit fever, headache, chills, weakness, and one or more swollen or tender and painful lymph nodes, referred to as buboes. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Once bitten by a flea carrying the bacteria, symptoms usually develop two to six days after being bitten, and include sudden fever, headache, chills, and painful, swollen lymph nodes (known as buboes). [news.health.com]

  In addition, affected individuals also suffer from fever, along with chills, malaise, headache and muscle ache. Diagnosis Diagnosis of bubonic plague is made through a preliminary physical examination of the bubo. [symptoma.com]

  Symptoms Plague symptoms, which health officials say typically develop in one to four days after exposure, include fever, chills, headache, weakness and a bloody or watery cough. Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague. [usatoday.com]

• Altered Mental Status

  An 8-year-old Navajo boy presented to the emergency department with fever and altered mental status. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

To diagnose bubonic plague, samples will be taken from the body to analyze for the presence of bacteria. Following this, the development of buboes will be carefully examined. In addition, fluid from the buboes will be drawn to test for the presence of bacteria. Blood culture test are also required which would reveal bacteria.

An effective tool for rapid diagnosis of bubonic plague has been introduced. This test is known as direct immunofluorescence testing of body fluids. Such a kind of method is helpful in analyzing even small amounts of Yersinia pestis in the sample within 15 minutes [7].

• Rickettsia Rickettsii

  […] disease, Flying squirrel typhus Spotted fever Tick-borne Rickettsia rickettsii Rocky Mountain spotted fever Rickettsia conorii Boutonneuse fever Rickettsia japonica Japanese spotted fever Rickettsia sibirica North Asian tick typhus Rickettsia australis [en.wikipedia.org]

• Rickettsia Conorii

  […] disease, Flying squirrel typhus Spotted fever Tick-borne Rickettsia rickettsii Rocky Mountain spotted fever Rickettsia conorii Boutonneuse fever Rickettsia japonica Japanese spotted fever Rickettsia sibirica North Asian tick typhus Rickettsia australis [en.wikipedia.org]

• Bartonella Quintana

  […] henselae Cat-scratch disease Bartonella quintana Trench fever Either B. henselae or B. quintana Bacillary angiomatosis Bartonella bacilliformis Carrion's disease, Verruga peruana β Neisseriales M+ Neisseria meningitidis/meningococcus Meningococcal disease [en.wikipedia.org]

• Rickettsia Typhi

  External links v t e Infectious diseases Bacterial disease : Proteobacterial G− primarily A00–A79, 001–041, 080–109 α Rickettsiales Rickettsiaceae / ( Rickettsioses ) Typhus Rickettsia typhi Murine typhus Rickettsia prowazekii Epidemic typhus, Brill–Zinsser [en.wikipedia.org]

• Vibrio Vulnificus

  […] cholerae Cholera Vibrio vulnificus Vibrio parahaemolyticus Vibrio alginolyticus Plesiomonas shigelloides Pseudomonadales Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pseudomonas infection Moraxella catarrhalis Acinetobacter baumannii Xanthomonadaceae Stenotrophomonas maltophilia [en.wikipedia.org]

For early remission of the disease, antibiotics are administered within 24 hours of appearance of the preliminary signs and symptoms. Antibiotics form the preliminary basis of treatment regime, which includes gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, streptomycin and doxycycline. In cases where the symptoms have taken a severe form, hospitalization would be required [8] [9].

If treatment is initiated with antibiotics, then the prognosis is usually favorable. Patients survive the disease condition and gradually recover completely. However, when the treatment is delayed, then several complications can set in, which can finally lead to death. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), about 50% individuals with bubonic plague die, due to lack of initiation of treatment in the right time. It has also been reported that the death rate can be significantly reduced by 50% when treatment is given [6].

Bubonic plague is caused by bacteria known as Yersinia pestis. The bacteria are spread by infected fleas that commonly reside on rodents such as mice and rats. In rare cases, the disease is spread when the individual comes in contact with an infected material used by the infected person. Individuals can also contract the disease condition, if there is a break in the skin and they come in contact with an infected animal’s blood. Scratches from infected domestic animals, such as cats or rats, can also predispose an individual to develop bubonic plague [2].

The past era has witnessed a high incidence of bubonic plague. It was responsible for significant cases of mortality in the 14th century. In the period of 1994 to 1999, about 49 cases of plague were reported from different states namely Arizona, California, Utah and New Mexico. It was also estimated that 50 to 90% cases of untreated bubonic plague were a cause of mortality. In spite of strict preventive measures, cases of plague still have noted in Madagascar. About 138 new cases of bubonic plague have been reported in this island [3] [4].

There are basically 2 stages involved with the pathophysiology of plague development in humans. These include cycle within fleas, and cycle within humans. Individuals usually develop bubonic plague when they are bitten by infected fleas who have fed on animals infected with the bacteria. Once the human is bitten, the bacteria gains entry through the skin and attacks the lymphatic system. Such a phenomenon promotes swelling of the lymph glands, giving rise to development of buboes in the axilla, groin and neck region [5].

Controlling the rodent population can help in considerable prevention of plague. Keeping the pets safe from fleas also would help in keeping the disease at bay. It is also necessary to use insect repellants to keep insects and fleas out from home. Individuals, who spend significant amount of time outdoors, are advised to use natural insect repellants such as citronella which would keep fleas and insects away.

Vaccinations against plague are available; however they are meant for the laboratory staff that is at high risk of developing the disease. According to the guidelines issued by WHO, the plague vaccine is not appropriate in case of outbreaks [10].

Bubonic plague is a bacterial disease caused by infected fleas that reside on rodents. It is a severe form of bacterial infection that has life threatening consequences. In cases of failure to initiate prompt treatment, bubonic plague can cause mortality in about 2/3rd of the individuals infected with the disease.

Previously, bubonic plague was also referred to as plague, but the former is specifically caused due to an infection that enters the skin and passes through the lymphatics. If humans are bitten by infected flea, it leads to development of swelling of the lymph nodes. Through the bite, the bacteria gains entry through the skin, following which it travels through the lymph nodes, giving rise to an array of symptoms [1].

Definition

Bubonic plague is a bacterial disease characterized by development of buboes in the armpits, neck and groin region, hence the name bubonic plague. It is a disease which can cause death in the affected population, if prompt treatment is not initiated. The disease primarily occurs due to infected fleas which reside on rodents, and bite the humans.

Cause

The bacteria Yersinia pestis causes bubonic plague. The disease is spread through infected fleas which harbor on rodents, and bite the human, eventually gaining entry into the system. The bacteria enter the system through the skin and travel through the lymphatics leading to swelling of the lymph glands.

Symptoms

Development of buboes in the groin, neck or the armpit region is the characteristic symptom of bubonic plague. The area of the insect bite is where the bubo develops. Individuals may also experience pain in the area of the insect bite prior to the occurrence of bubo. In addition, affected individuals also suffer from fever, along with chills, malaise, headache and muscle ache.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of bubonic plague is made through a preliminary physical examination of the bubo. In addition, a rapid diagnostic tool known as immunofluorescence of the body fluids has been developed which enables analyzing the presence of small amounts of bacteria within 15 minutes.

Treatment

A strong antibiotic regime is helpful for treating bubonic plague. If antibiotics are given when the primary signs appear, then individuals can recover fully from the disease.

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