Wars, poverty, hunger, and malnutrition made Europe of the 14th century an ideal ground for plague epidemics. The disease got its name from the deep purple, almost black discoloration of infected persons caused by subcutaneous hemorrhages. The pneumonic form results from inhalation of aerosolized infective droplets and can also be transmitted between humans ( 1, 2).īubonic plague, historically also known as Black Death, swept across Europe during the late medieval period in an epidemic that started in 1347 ( 5– 9). The septicemic form occurs when the infection spreads through the bloodstream. The bacillus enters through the bite, travels through the lymphatic system to the lymph nodes, and results in painful inflammation. The bubonic form is most common and results from the bite of an infective flea. Three forms of plague are known: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic. Although these animals are susceptible, it is believed that other rodents and their fleas are the reservoirs and spread the disease during epizoonotics and maintain the pathogen ( 4). Plague represents an exotic disease in North America it usually affects prairie dogs ( Cynomus luduvicianus) and has eliminated large colonies of these animals in the northwestern United States. pestis is a global pathogen that has active foci in all continents except Australia and Antarctica ( 3). Untreated plague has a high case-fatality rate ( 1, 2). This disease is transmitted from animals to humans by the bite of infected fleas, direct contact, inhalation, and, rarely, ingestion of infective material. Plague is a zoonotic infection circulating among small animals, usually black rats and their fleas it is caused by the bacillus Yersinia pestis.
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