Yersinia pestis infection (patient information)

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Yersinia pestis infection
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
Who is at highest risk?
When to seek urgent medical care?
Diagnosis
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Yersinia pestis infection?
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Plague is a severe and potentially deadly bacterial infection.

What are the symptoms of Yersinia pestis infection?

Bubonic plague symptoms appear suddenly, usually after 2 - 5 days of exposure to the bacteria. Symptoms include:

• Chills
• Fever
• General ill feeling (malaise)
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Seizures
• Smooth, painful lymph gland swelling called a bubo
  • Commonly found in the groin, but may occur in the armpits or neck, most often at the site of the infection (bite or scratch)
  • Pain may occur in the area before the swelling appears

Pneumonic plague symptoms appear suddenly, typically 2 - 3 days after exposure. They include:

• Cough
• Difficulty breathing
• Fever
• Frothy, bloody sputum
• Pain in the chest when you breathe deeply
• Severe cough

Septicemic plague may cause death even before its symptoms occur. Symptoms can include:

• Abdominal pain
• Bleeding due to blood clotting problems
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Nausea
• Vomiting

What causes Yersinia pestis infection?

Plague is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Rodents, such as rats, carry the disease. It is spread by their fleas. People can get the plague when they are bitten by a flea that carries the plague bacteria from an infected rodent. In rare cases, you may get the disease when handling an infected animal. A plague lung infection called pneumonic plague can spread from human to human. When someone with pneumonic plague coughs, tiny droplets carrying the bacteria move through the air. Anyone who breathes in these particles may catch the disease. An epidemic may be started this way. In the Middle Ages in Europe, massive plague epidemics killed millions of people. Plague can still be found in Africa, Asia, and South America. Today, plague is rare in the United States, but it has been known to occur in parts of California, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. There three most common forms of plague are:

• Bubonic plague -- an infection of the lymph nodes
• Pneumonic plague -- an infection of the lungs
• Septicemic plague -- an infection of the blood

The time between being infected and developing symptoms is typically 2 to 7 days, but may be as short as 1 day for pneumonic plague. Risk factors for plague include a recent flea bite and exposure to rodents, especially rabbits, squirrels, or prairie dogs, or scratches or bites from infected domestic cats.

Who is at highest risk?

eople can get the plague when they are bitten by a flea that carries the plague bacteria from an infected rodent. In rare cases, you may get the disease when handling an infected animal.

Diagnosis

Tests that may be done include:

• Blood culture
• Culture of lymph node aspirate (fluid taken from an affected lymph node or bubo)
• Sputum culture

Where to find medical care for Yersinia pestis infection?

Directions to Hospitals Treating Yersinia pestis infection