BUBONIC PLAGUE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci and Tech)

Context: The Oregon Health Authority recently confirmed a rare case of the bubonic plague infecting a resident.

Bubonic Plague 

• About: It is an infection spread mostly to humans by infected fleas that travel on rodents. 

oBubonic plague is one type of plague. It gets its name from the swollen lymph nodes (buboes) caused by the disease

• Called: Black Death, it killed millions of Europeans during the Middle Ages.
• Caused by: A specific type of bacterium called Yersinia pestis. Y. pestis can affect humans and animals and is spread mainly by fleas.
• Symptoms: Fever, headaches, and vomiting,[1] as well as swollen and painful lymph nodes occurring in the area closest to where the bacteria entered the skin.
• The three most endemic countries:Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Peru.
• Presently, human plague infections continue to occur in rural areas in the western United States, but significantly more cases occur in parts of Africa and Asia.

The other types of plague are:

• Septicemic plague, which happens when the infection goes all through the body.
• Pneumonic plague, which happens when lungs are infected.