Plague Flashcards
What bacteria causes the plague
Y.pestis
How do you get Bubonic Plague
Bite from infected flea and then spreads into the lymph nodes
How do you get septicemic plague
Spread mainly by flea bits and its the infection of the blood
How do you get Pneumonic plague
Y.pestis is inhaled through respiratory droplets and then into the lungs
How do you get systemic infection
Ingested then into the lymph nodes and a localized event and lastly systemic
What are the symptoms of bubonic
1-7 days post exposure: flu like symptoms, fever, headache, large buboes in armpits, groin and neck, gangrene of extremities
Symptoms of septicemic plague
Lots of small clots, bleeding under the skin, bleeding from mouth, organ failure, gangrene in extremities
Symptoms of Pneumonic plague
Coughing up blood- fever, headache, weakness, shortness of breath
What is the pathophys of bubonic plague
Enters the cells via bite then gets transported into the lymph nodes by macrophages and then pus forms in the marginal sinus, then lymph nodes becomes enlarged and can burst, from there can enter the blood and cause septicemic plague
Pathophy of pneumonic plague
Inhaled then taken to the lungs and from there it can go into the blood and cause septic plague or it can stay in the lungs and you get pneumonic plague
How do we treat it
Immediate 7-10 day antibiotic treatment
The rates drop to 1-15% for bubonic, 4-15 for septicemic and then must be within 24hrs for pneumonic
Historical treatment:
- blood letting
-vinegar washes
- bathe in human excrement
- stay in doors
-don’t have sex
Can we prevent it and how?
There are vaccination but not necessary unless you work in a lab with a strain of Y.pestis
Three other facts
Plague doctors were not actual doctors
Many attributed the spread of the disease to ‘bad air’
Epidemics occur when domestic rat populations and their fleas become infected
