Bubonic plague

Bubonic plague is an infectious disease that is believed to have caused several epidemics or pandemics throughout history. Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague, and is characterized by swollen, tender, inflamed lymph glands (called buboes); other forms are Septicemic plague, which occurs when plague bacteria multiply in the blood, and Pneumonic plague, which occurs when the lungs are infected.

Contemporary cases

The disease still exists in wild animal populations from the Caucasus Mountains east across southern and central Russia, to Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and parts of China; in Southwest and Southeast Asia, Southern and East Africa (including the island of Madagascar); in North America, from the Pacific Coast eastward to the western Great Plains, and from British Columbia south to Mexico; and in South America in two areas: the Andes mountains and Brazil. There is no plague-infected animal population in Europe or Australia.

Related Topics:
Caucasus Mountains - Russia - Kazakhstan - Mongolia - China - Southwest - Southeast Asia - Southern - East Africa - Madagascar - North America - Pacific Coast - Great Plains - British Columbia - Mexico - South America - Andes - Brazil - Europe - Australia

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Globally, the World Health Organization reports 1,000 to 3,000 human cases of plague every year.

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In September 2005 the Associated Press reported that three mice infected with the bacteria responsible for bubonic plague apparently disappeared from a laboratory. The mice were unaccounted-for at the Public Health Research Institute, which is on the campus of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and conducts bioterrorism research for the United States federal government.

Related Topics:
Associated Press - Bubonic plague - Bioterrorism - United States

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