![]() ![]() Three pandemics of plague have been recorded. Medical and public health preparedness and response plans have been developed to counter the threat of its potential misuse. pestis has been classified as a Category A select agent subject to federal laws governing its management and transport. Recently, concern has been raised over plague as a potential weapon of terrorism Y. Reporting and control of the disease is mandated by national and international health regulations. Cases should be reported to health authorities immediately so that appropriate investigative and control measures can be implemented without delay. Although plague has a high epidemic potential, preventive steps can be taken to reduce risks of exposure, and outbreaks can be readily halted using standard public health measures. ![]() However, delays in treatment can rapidly lead to potentially fatal overwhelming infection and endotoxemia. ![]() All forms of plague are curable if they are diagnosed and treated early. Septicemic and pneumonic plagues occur most often as secondary complications of bubonic plague, but may arise directly from primary infections. Bubonic (lymphadenitic) plague accounts for 85% or more of primary plague cases. The principal clinical forms of plague are bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic. The vast majority of cases of human plague now occur in underserved Third World populations where sanitation is poor and persons live in close association with rodent reservoirs of infection. Humans acquire infection most often by the bite of rodent fleas, occasionally by handling or ingesting infected animal tissues, or by inhaling contagious airborne particles. It is an incidental infection of humans and mammals other than rodents. pestis is maintained in nature as a zoonotic infection of rodents and their fleas in scattered foci in large areas of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. ![]() Historically, it is synonymous with catastrophic epidemics. Plague in humans is a severe febrile illness caused by the gram-negative bacillus, Yersinia pestis. ![]()
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